


The Workhouse Family

by ottermadness



Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: Alternate Universe - Victorian, Blackmail, Christmas, Cross-Posted on FanFiction.Net, Drama, Eventual Sex, F/M, Friendship, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-15
Updated: 2020-12-21
Packaged: 2021-03-10 21:08:46
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 31,851
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28093695
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ottermadness/pseuds/ottermadness
Summary: Orphaned at just eight years old, Lucy Heartfilia is sent to a workhouse where she befriends a small group of children. Together they grew up supporting each other, carrying on into adulthood when Lucy becomes the victim of a blackmail plot. Victorian AU with Christmas themes. NaLu with mentions of other minor pairings.
Relationships: Natsu Dragneel/Lucy Heartfilia
Comments: 11
Kudos: 59





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hey everyone!  
> A few notes before the story gets started:
> 
> I associate Dickensian and Victorian works with Christmas so I wanted to write something loosely set in that era. To be more specific, the time setting is equivalent to around 1860 for us. I'm not a historian and my research was minimal for such a short fic. I have also left out any mentions of religion too but, for context, in the Victorian era, being intimate and having intercourse outside of marriage was seen as sinful. Also, I am pretty awful at naming my stories and I couldn't come up with anything better during the entire time that I was writing this!
> 
> I'm also going to be using British spellings for this although I've left out using any specific British slang as, apart from Jacob (from the Spriggan 12), I can't recall any characters sounding British in the slightest.
> 
> I will be posting a new chapter each day of this story from here on out – it's all written in advance and there are eight chapters in total so feel free to wait until I've released every chapter if you want to read it all in one sitting.
> 
> This story is themed mostly romance, drama, friendship with very few fantasy elements and no magic.
> 
> The fic is also primarily Nalu with some mentions of Gajevy, Jerza and Gruvia.
> 
> Warnings: Child labour, child cruelty, sexism, light swearing, time skips, blackmail and an eventual sex scene between consenting adults

It was early February when the young Lucy Heartfilia, only eight years old, was withdrawing into the back of a cold, dark and unfamiliar carriage late one evening. The older, stern woman in black escorting her said nothing as Lucy wrapped her arms around herself, feeling the fine pink silk of her dress rubbing against her fingers. She knew not of where she was going, only the emotional pain she felt from her father's recent passing.

It had been bittersweet for her. First her mother, Layla, died from consumption – a heart wracking period of Lucy's life as she watched her beautiful mother waste away and become bedridden. The coughing fits were the hardest to hear. Her father, Jude, was inconsolable when the disease finally claimed her and Lucy spent much of her time alone as he shut himself away. She didn't know if he died from heartbreak or not but she often told herself he did and that's why he left her all alone in the world. He wanted to be with her mother and she didn't want her mother to be alone either, so in a way, she was happy that might be together again somewhere.

The family estate that she lived on became a place of strangers and she only heard snippets of what was happening once her father had been buried beside her mother. The furniture was soon covered in white sheets, the maids and cooks she had grown so attached to all left and, finally, the day came when she was told that the estate had been sold. She was to go somewhere else now – it wasn't her home any more.

Lucy didn't understand why – her understanding at her age was that the house should belong to her now. Instead, she was collected by a lady with a hard face and grumpy voice who told her she was being taken to where the other orphan children went to in town. An orphanage she considered, like the ones she had read about in her books – now also left behind in the house that was no longer home.

When the carriage finally came to a stop, Lucy lurched forwards, only to barely catch herself on the opposite seat of hers. The woman escorting her tutted and waited for a footman to open the vehicle's door and offer his assistance in leaving the vehicle.

"Come along now," she said to Lucy stiffly, offering no such hand to her to help down the step.

As Lucy stepped out, lifting her petticoat roughly to do so (she was never one to be delicate), she saw a large and imposing brick building with dark windows and an oppressive looking door. She didn't know if this was an orphanage or something worse. The chill in the winter air didn't help either. There was still light snow and frost on the ground, as there would be for a few more weeks to come. It was a cold reminder that her footwear consisting of dainty shoes and frilly socks weren't meant for walking around outside in.

When Lucy didn't move, the woman harshly nudged her forwards. Lucy wrapped her arms around herself tightly as she approached the entrance – briefly wondering if the place was haunted too.

The woman escorting her rang a brass bell to the side and it wasn't long before the door opened for them. Another woman, tall and imposing, was awaiting them on the other side. Once again, Lucy was nudged and pushed inside whilst her escort stayed outside as if she couldn't bear the thought of stepping in herself.

The hallway inside was wide but just as oppressive as the outside – dark, worn and the minimal lighting was dim with the scent of lingering oil in the air.

"She's all yours," her escort said from the doorway, Lucy only getting a glimpse of her from behind as she turned her head to see her leave. It was then that she looked over to whomever she had been left with – a much younger woman this time, with dark eyes and mossy green hair round tightly into a bun.

"So, you're Lucy, are you?" she asked with a sneer.

"Y-Yes," Lucy barely stuttered back.

"You will follow me," she said, turning and walking in quick strides down the corridor. Lucy hesitantly followed. It wasn't long before she found herself following her to the outside of the back of the building and across a dark courtyard, the chilling winds hitting her face once again. Lucy hurried faster after the woman now as she proceeded to walk over to an outbuilding, unlocking it with a rattle of her keys.

"Keep up girl or there'll be punishment to face," she harshly said as Lucy approached her. Lucy recoiled slightly at the thought of punishment and what that would be. The wooden cane hanging from the woman's hip would have given her a slight inclination but Lucy had never faced physical punishment before – she didn't know what to expect.

"Get inside," the woman instructed next and Lucy wasted little time in hesitating. She quickly stepped inside, surprised to find the room much better lit than the main structure she had just passed through.

She didn't have time to think about it as the older woman was fast about slamming the door behind her as she also entered the room before then pointing to a metal tub of water in the centre of the room.

"Strip and wash yourself," she instructed.

Lucy took a step forward – the water looked clean but cold. "W-Why?" she stuttered.

It was then that she felt a wooden rod smack her across her back, causing her to shriek from the sudden burst of pain and then falling to her knees.

"You are to only speak when asked a question," the woman said from behind, her voice stern and cruel. Lucy felt that she might have even been a little pleased as well.

She felt the tears coming as she got back up and took another look at the water. She didn't even know how to clean herself – that had been Ms Spetto's task to do. The bathtub at home was always warm and her nanny's hands would take the extra time to really clean her hair with delicate fingers running across her scalp. Lucy looked to the single rag that hung over the metal basin's side. She could only give this her best shot.

She wanted to ask the cruel woman where she was and why she was there. She thought this to be an orphanage but had envisioned other children, running and playing together in the halls. It almost had her excited to finally be around other children for the first time in her life. It was however, late, and she could only assume that that was the reason for the lack of laughter in the corridors.

Lucy struggled to remove her pretty dress and as a result, she ripped it unintentionally, earning her yet another lash across her back with the rod.

"Stupid girl! That was a valuable piece of clothing!"

Lucy grimaced through the pain, a single tear falling down her cheek as she tried not to sob in front of this woman. She doubted that she would receive any pity. Soon, she was down to her petticoat and reluctantly, she removed that too before taking a single step into the water. It was just as cold as she presumed it would be. Not wanting to be smacked again, Lucy fully stepped in and soaked the rag completely before running it over herself, shivering madly as she did so.

Her movements were sloppy but she cleaned all the places on her body that she knew were important – especially behind the ears, Ms Spetto had always reminded of that. Once she thought she was clean, Lucy stepped from the tub and went to pick up her discarded petticoat and shoes but found her hand was quickly lashed too at the moment she touched it.

"No, you will leave those behind – I have new clothes for you," the woman sneered once again and directed her towards a screen. Over the top of it hung a new dress although it was of a dark grey colour. "That is what you will wear."

Lucy hurried behind the screen, being naked and cold made her not care for how the dress looked other than that she wanted it to warm her up fast. She grabbed the article of clothing and tried to ignore how stiff and itchy it felt in her hands before she pulled it over her head. She had never worn any such fabric like what she was putting on and she couldn't say she liked it. She wanted to ask why she couldn't put her own clothes back on but dared not to. A worn pair of flat black shoes and wool socks accompanied her new outfit.

She was ordered to hurry up and so she did, thankful that she was at least a tiny bit warmer.

"I'm putting you in dorm room F, try not to wake any of the other children up," the woman informed her as she led her from the building again. Lucy looked back once at her clothes that had been left on the floor. She had a feeling that it would be the last time she would ever see them.

It didn't take long to reach the locked door to the room that the woman had mentioned, the letter 'F' crudely printed on the front. Lucy was still cold, her back still hurt from the stick and her shoes didn't fit right. She had so many things she wanted to ask and she also wanted to cry her eyes out – not understanding what was happening to her.

"Your bed is the empty one at the back – you will go to sleep and get up at six in the morning, is that understood?" the woman said, earning a small but quick nod from Lucy. She quickly unlocked the door and Lucy found that she was harshly nudged inside before the door was quickly closed again behind her.

She was faced with two rows of small metal-framed beds on each side of the wall, the moonlight from windows at the other end of the room illuminating some of the area for her. There were no curtains to shut the light out, something Lucy briefly wondered if it was intentional. All the beds were clearly occupied as tufts of hair poked out from the raggedy blankets that covered each bed. Lucy paid little attention to that though as she hurried across the room to the only unoccupied bed at the end.

A nightshirt hung loosely on a peg next to it and Lucy changed again, finding it easier this time around to switch clothing. She didn't know if the woman would come back to check on her and she didn't want to feel that cane upon her person again.

She clambered into the bed, quickly realising that the mattress was not in the slightest bit similar to her mattress at her house.

' _My old house,'_ she sombrely thought.

The pillow was just as uncomfortable to rest her head on and the answer to why was obvious when Lucy pressed her hand against it in an attempt to make it comfortable – it was filled with straw.

She lay there for a little while, still cold and finding that the blanket did very little in keeping her warm… or perhaps it was because she wasn't all that warm to begin with. She didn't think that the woman would return with a bed warming pan for her either, much like her mother or Ms Spetto had done in the past.

She was hungry, alone, cold and the silence of the room was broken up by bangs from elsewhere in the building and the sounds of metal bars occasionally being clanged in the distance, as though the place was some sort of prison. It felt as if it was breaking what spirit she still had.

Lucy rolled to her side and found herself unable to stop the tears coming as she realised the reality that she was now facing. Her mother was gone, her father was gone and her home was gone. She didn't even have her Plue doll to cuddle with at night any more. The sobbing came slowly at first but soon Lucy was unable to stay quiet.

"Is someone crying?" came a sleepy voice from the bed opposite hers. Lucy, however, didn't move and instead tried to shield her face with her long blonde hair.

"Yeah, which girl is it?" came another voice, this one belonging to a boy.

"Ssssshhh! The house-mother will hear us!" came another, with much more worried tone this time.

Lucy clenched her eyes tighter and tried to stop the sobs, not wanting to be punished again. She already was beginning to feel guilty for just waking the other children up. It was after a few tear-filled moments that she felt a hand on her shoulder through the old blanket that covered her.

"New girl? Are you okay?" asked a gentle voice belonging to a girl. Lucy sat up and lifted her head to see a girl with brown hair dressed in the same nightshirt as her, looking down with worried eyes.

"I-I d-don't… know w-why-" Lucy stuttered back, more tears already forming in the corners of her eyes.

"Hey," another girl's voice said as she crouched beside her bed, Lucy noting that this voice belonged to someone slightly older than her, her red hair clearly visible in the moonlight from the window. "It's okay to cry but if she hears you…"

Lucy felt the brown-haired girl rub her shoulder and Lucy tried to stifle her cries. It must have come a little late as their heads collectively snapped up towards the door at the sound of keys followed by an unlocking mechanism were heard.

The same adult woman from before walked in, whacking her cane lightly in her hand threateningly as she stepped towards the middle of the room. Both of the girls scampered away from Lucy's side, back to their own cots respectively with small, fearful gasps.

The adult grunted and offered another whack of her cane into her palm again, a little harder this time as a silent message was passed between her and those that were awake. Lucy felt herself holding her breath, determined to stay as quiet as possible, her heart racing in fear.

The woman left after a tense minute passed in the room.

Lucy released the breath she had been holding before she felt the tears return, a result of confusion and fear this time. Her sobs were quieter than before and she hoped she wouldn't be heard – that she might fall asleep and pretend that this was all one horrible dream.

She wasn't sure for how long she cried, muffling herself the best she could by hiding under the blanket. It took her by surprise when the blanket over her face was suddenly lifted and she found herself looking into the face of a boy with pinkish hair staring down at her. Her crying stopped for a moment as he observed her.

"Hey," he said.

"...Hello," Lucy replied back meekly.

"Things are gonna be okay," he said quietly, crouching so that he was eye level with her as she lay on her side.

"But-" Lucy began to say softly.

"Everyone here is family, so ya don't need to cry," he said quickly, resting his arms on the rim of her bed frame.

"Family?" Lucy echoed as quietly as she could.

"Yep! We all look out for each other so save your tears."

Lucy gulped as she stared at him and he offered her a small smile. She tried to smile back but she just couldn't muster it and felt a few more tears forming as she thought back to the home that she didn't think she would ever see again.

All thoughts of that were interrupted when the boy suddenly grabbed her hand with his and his eyes widened. "You're really cold!" he said with concern.

"The water was cold…" Lucy tried to explain, realising she wasn't making a lot of sense. He seemed to understand despite that as he nodded at her.

"Okay," was his answer and he stood up. Lucy watched him and thought that he was leaving her now – something she didn't want. She didn't want to be alone in this cold and strange place.

To her surprise, he merely lifted up her blanket some more and sat on the rim of her bed. "Move over then," he said and Lucy obeyed, curious as to what he as doing. He lifted his whole body into her cot and placed an arm over her after pulling her blanket back over them both. He rested his head on her pillow and she found herself looking into his eyes once again and the pink hue of his hair.

"What are you doing?" Lucy whispered to him.

"Keeping you warm, duh," he said. Lucy didn't say anything, unsure what to do about the boy that had just helped himself into sharing her cot with her. She could already guess that he lacked proper taught manners but she didn't mind that at all – she never liked those etiquette lessons anyway.

"I'm Natsu by the way."

"My name's Lucy," she replied.

"Ssssshhh!" came another boy's voice from nearby. Lucy hushed immediately whereas she observed Natsu roll his eyes in annoyance. She didn't say anything more and found herself quickly growing warmer under the shoddy blanket which left her contemplating if Natsu was special in some way. She closed her eyes as she grew sleepy and wondering if there was a chance that this boy would want to be her first real friend.

Lucy awoke to a bell ringing, the room still dark and her first thought was to how her body ached from the awful bedding. She was still warm on that cold winter morning, quickly seeing why that was when she found herself staring into the sleeping face of the boy who comforted her during the night before. His arm still rested across hers and she wondered if he had even heard the bell.

It soon rang again and Lucy heard the movement of feet behind her as bed frames creaked with the rising of drowsy children. She didn't want to move – scared to see what kind of day awaited her as well as seeing that horrid woman's face again. Not only that but she could feel the chilly temperature on her cheeks and despite the uncomfortable bed, she wanted to stay warm and in the company of the one who stayed with her throughout the night.

"Natsu! What are you doing in the new girl's bed?" came the voice of the same red-haired girl from the night before as Lucy peeked up to see her standing at the foot of her bed.

Natsu let out a yawn and lazily opened an eye. "Sleeping."

"I'm sorry, new girl," the redhead said. "Natsu, you need to get up before the house-mother gets here!"

"Her name's Loopy, Erza" Natsu replied sleepily.

"It's Lucy actually…" Lucy corrected him. He grunted and removed his hand from Lucy, rolling over and almost smacking himself on to the floor as he must have realised at the last moment that the bed was actually quite small. Lucy sat up and looked at him as he bounced to his feet. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah," Natsu replied. "C'mon, you need'ta get up and wash before Kyôka smacks us all with the rod again."

"Don't say her name!" The redhead seethed at him.

"Yeah, ash for brains, do you wanna get us all punished?" came another boy's voice from the other side of the room.

"I'm not afraid of her," Natsu declared and offering Lucy one last smile before he made his way across the room to his own bed.

Lucy, on the other hand, was quickly assisted by the redhead, Erza, and was hurriedly told what to do. She had to wash her face, make her bed, change back into her coarse dress and she was also informed that if she ever used her chamberpot during the night, then she would need to take it out to empty it as soon as inspections were over with.

Once Lucy had done all that, she waited by her bed nervously. The other girls and boys looked somewhat nervous too, save for Natsu who looked more annoyed than anything on the opposite side of the room at the far end, away from her.

Before long, the house-mother returned and entered the room, causing Lucy to tense up at the thought of the rod on her back again. Thankfully, with thanks to Erza no doubt, Lucy passed her inspection along with everyone else and they were soon marched out of the room with promises of breakfast.

Despite her frightening start in this new place that she that found herself in, Lucy had the feeling that she was in good company at least, feeling slightly more at ease than before.


	2. Chapter 2

Over the next few months, Lucy had come to learn that the building she had been placed in was not an orphanage, but in fact a workhouse. She didn't understand the word initially but understood that it was a place for the poor to go when there was absolutely nowhere else.

Her days were a far cry from what she had been previously used to. Now it always was an early rise before the sun could even be seen in the sky. Sundays were the only exception to this thankfully, when all the children got to sleep in a little longer.

Lucy's breakfast of stale bread and gruel was neither appetising nor satisfying and that was before she was to attend a classroom with the other children her age where what she was taught was minimal at best. The afternoons that followed were spent doing 'chores' where she was normally put on laundry detail with the other girls.

Kyôka, the woman who dished out the punishment, was known as the house-mother although Lucy never dared to address her by name.

Lucy struggled to befriend the other children at first – they immediately noticed her different mannerisms and began to resent her when she talked about her former life. Luckily, dorm room F was her place of safety as the children there readily accepted her, seeing her as quirky in her initial behaviours.

Erza was the one who watched over them all protectively and was also the one who received the most punishments from their cruel house-mother, as if Erza was personally hated by her. When Lucy was picked on by children from the other dorms, Erza was the one to step in and defend her, with some light violence occasionally. Only a boy called Jellal could calm her down.

Then there was Mirajane and Lisanna – orphaned sisters who were resourceful and could always sneak in extra food from the kitchens where they were often doing their chores in as assistants.

Then there was Gajeel – a tall, gruff boy with dark hair who could fix any problem in the dorm. When something broke that the adults took no effort in repairing, he was the resourceful one to do it with what he could get his hands on. Many of the crooked cots, for example, were propped up with various things he had found around the grounds.

Gray was another boy, just as dark-haired as Gajeel but he was always a voice of reason within their dorm. He never reacted emotionally to punishments from the house-mother but he could always get angry when his best friend, Natsu, managed to find something to argue with him about, no matter how small it was.

Natsu was the reason Lucy believed she had coped the first few months in the workhouse. He could always cheer her up and make her smile whenever things felt overwhelming or when the chores and punishments became momentarily all too horrible for her to handle. When Lucy continued to cry every night, often thinking of how much she missed home and sometimes mourning her deceased parents, Natsu would come to comfort her and sleep beside her in her cot. Eventually, her nightly crying stopped altogether but she found that Natsu continued to stay with her anyway as if to protect her from whatever else might disturb her during the night.

One day, when Lucy was sitting in the barely furnished classroom, their teacher stepped out and some of the other children began to lament about how they still didn't know how to read or write. When the teacher returned, he was unhappy with how unruly they had all become and each suffered a caning for speaking out of turn.

Lucy spotted an opportunity to win them over as well as being able to benefit her friends – she knew how to read and write of course, having been taught from a young age and her handwriting already beautiful to look at. If her father praised her for one thing – it was the way she could write so elegantly at her age and he often said that perhaps she might become a writer one day if it weren't for the fact that she would undoubtedly be destined to marry instead.

When she told Natsu about her idea to teach everyone how to read, he was more than happy to assist. He held her hand as they sneaked into the classroom during one Sunday when the house-mother was busy in another part of the building.

"Are you sure about this, Natsu?" Lucy asked as he began to fiddle with the locked door.

"Stop worrying, Lucy! We'll hide the book under my bed so you won't get in trouble!" he answered enthusiastically before turning the doorknob so sharply that it made a sound as if it were broken. Lucy grimaced but Natsu paid it no mind, instead choosing to use a discarded pin he had found outside to fiddle with the lock.

After a minute of waiting, Lucy briefly wondering if lockpicking was a skill that Natsu had learnt or been taught, the door opened with a loud squeak, causing the two to jump at the sound and hoping that no one else heard.

When a few moments had passed, Natsu grabbed Lucy's hand again and led her into the room. The single bookshelf was mostly bare, with only half of the shelves occupied by dusty old tomes.

"Which one do ya want?" Natsu asked as he lifted himself up to the higher shelves and Lucy dashed forward to support his feet before he would inevitably fall by himself.

"The one called 'The Book of Fables'," Lucy said, her eyes spotting the book on the top right-hand side of the shelf.

"Lucy, I can't read, remember? What colour is it?" Natsu said, turning his head down to look at her.

"The red one, the red one!" Lucy said back impatiently, pointing desperately as her paranoia that they might be caught at any moment crept up on her.

Natsu turned back, grinning when he saw the book she meant and pulled it out with a harsh tug. Unfortunately, several other surrounding books also went tumbling off the shelf and landed on the floor with a thud. Lucy let out a small shriek of surprise and pulled back her hands, causing Natsu to fall and he fell backwards, landing on his behind with a thump.

He triumphantly held up their prize – the book Lucy had requested. She paid this little mind as she tried to quickly place the fallen books back onto the shelf, albeit a lower one. She sincerely hoped that the teacher wouldn't notice come Monday morning.

"What else did ya need?" Natsu asked, getting up and inspecting the book he was holding.

"Paper and fountain pens," Lucy answered quickly as she placed the last of the books back.

Natsu wandered over to the teacher's desk and rummaged through the drawers, grabbing a handful of paper, accidentality crumpling it a little as well as picking up three pens.

Lucy hurried over to him and it was then that they both caught the sound of footsteps in the corridor. Natsu ran over to the check, precariously popping his head out of the door.

"Someone's coming!" Natsu said, trying to keep his voice down and failing badly at it. He shut the door and ran towards the desk and dropping everything he was holding underneath it before dropping down himself, pulling Lucy with him.

"Natsu!" she yelped, but that only caused him to hold his hand over her mouth as he shushed her.

They both stayed still and silent under the desk as the footsteps grew louder and louder, Lucy letting out a small but muffled whimper when the sound stopped right outside of the door. With bated breath, Lucy grabbed Natsu's hand and she shifted herself closer to him, unable to bear thinking about what could happen to either of them if they were caught.

Several tense moments passed and soon Lucy was relieved to hear the footsteps pick up and fade down the corridor.

"That was a close one," Natsu said, getting up and dashing over to the door again. "Coast is clear!" he called after peering out for a second or two. Lucy gathered the materials he had dropped, her heart torn between putting them back in fear of getting punished or taking them to her dorm family to teach them properly of how to read.

She went with the latter, summoning the courage as she thought of her friends and the encouragement of Natsu's words still lingering in her mind.

"Plan A was easy!" Natsu said as they exited the room and took off as fast as they could down the corridor towards their shared dorm. "Time for Plan B now!"

"There's a plan B?!" Lucy responded, startled.

"Yeah, we're gonna get my scarf back!"

One hour later, they were in the exact same position as before except that Natsu was breaking into the house-mother's study and rummaging through her belongings until he found what he was looking for. A beautifully made white scarf which he held to his nose, taking in the scent of it with reminiscent eyes and a sorrowful grin. From that point onwards, he would stuff that scarf into his pillowcase to hide it and only choosing to wear it on the dorm room.

That evening, the children gathered into a sitting circle their dorm, long after they suspected the house-mother might have retired for the evening. Natsu, ever the boy to hoard all kinds of things from around the workhouse, had managed to get a hold of a wax candle and friction matchsticks. He had little issue in lighting it, providing some light and a little warmth to the room. Mira and Lisanna presented a small selection of red berries they had gathered into a handkerchief of which they assured everyone were safe to eat.

Lucy took her time to read from the book she had stolen with Natsu earlier, reading the fables as they were presented.

"Why are there none with dragons?" Natsu asked as Lucy listed so many story titles with various animals.

"Dragons aren't real, that's why," Gray sharply replied.

"Are too!" Natsu insisted.

Wanting nothing more than to return the favour after all those things that Natsu had done for her, Lucy flipped the pages, pretending to find a story that would suit her best friend's request.

"The Dragon and the Rabbit – how about that one?" she asked, knowing that she would have to improvise a tale on the spot.

"Ha! Told you, frost face!" Natsu said, pulling faces at his raven-haired friend. "Read it, Lucy!"

Lucy exaggeratedly cleared her throat, much like how she remembered how her nanny would do whenever she was about to be read to. "There was once a lonely dragon…"

She told a story about how the dragon wanted to make some friends but everyone was scared of him. Then one day, the timid rabbit offered to be his friend. All the other animals thought the dragon would eat the rabbit and told them they could never be friends. The dragon proved them wrong and protected both the rabbit and all the other animals with his flaming hot breath. She left them all with the moral to not judge someone without getting to know them first.

Needless to say, the story was very much enjoyed by Natsu and as well as unexpectantly earning her the title of 'bunny girl' by Gajeel.

She quickly moved on to teaching them the alphabet with the stolen paper and pens, making little progress at first but after several evenings, everyone was learning a lot more than they did in their classroom.

As the year passed to the point where Christmas was fast approaching, Lucy's chores changed from doing laundry to sewing and needlework. She didn't enjoy that fact as she found it to be boring, even if it did save her from being on her feet all day but more so that she was away from her friends. At least in the laundry room, she had Cana for company.

The boys were given much more demanding chores – often yardwork although Gray often complained about having to chop firewood into kindling too.

Lucy cherished Natsu's unnatural warmth as the nights grew colder as he continued to warm her in what was essentially, their shared bed by that point. Once the frost appeared on the thin window panes, she began placing her hands on his chest, right over where his heart was. To her surprise, she found that he began to mutter incoherent words in his sleep, she holding back giggles when occasionally hearing her name said or a casual insult made towards Gray.

The children all looked forward to Christmas day, knowing that there would be no work for them and Mirajane had promised that their food would be slightly better from what she understood from working in the kitchens. The family of F dorm quickly devised a plan to have their own secret Christmas in their quarters regardless.

However, it was finding gifts to share with one another to be the challenging aspect of their plan. Mira and Lisanna desperately wanted their brother to join them, he being away from them in C dorm, and that was all they asked for.

Gray chose to carve tiny animals out of ice from a bucket of water that had frozen over in the yard. He had to give them out well before Christmas as they would quickly melt. Everyone knew the sculptures would not last but the gesture alone meant a lot to them all because of it. Gray even went to the trouble of carving out a rough shape of a dragon for Natsu, resulting in no fights or arguments from either of them for the rest of day.

Gajeel couldn't offer much other than the nails and small metal hooks he had found around the premises, but everyone was able to make a game out of them so they were worth more than their initial face value to the dorm members.

Erza and Jellal had managed to gain the greatest prize from the workhouse yet – a jar of strawberry jam and bread from the house-mother's room. Mira insisted they return it before they receive a punishment like none other but Erza refused. "It's our last few weeks here, we want to enjoy the time with you all," she said. Everyone knew that they were both slightly older than them all and Lucy was informed that they would both be leaving the dorm room soon to be in another wing of the building – where the adults were, separated by gender.

Lucy hated the idea of her newfound family leaving but she knew she could do nothing to prevent it. She looked to Natsu, knowing he was slightly older than her too and realised that it wouldn't be that long before he left as well. Perhaps he realised the same thing, for, at that moment, he grabbed her hand and held it tightly.

Returning to their gift-seeking exploits, Lucy had managed to replicate the stealthy actions that she and Natsu had engaged in earlier that year, gaining a copy of 'A Christmas Carol' from the bookcase with the intent to read it to everyone on Christmas day.

Natsu on the other hand, ever-growing bolder in his adventures, managed to climb out over the fence and off the workhouse grounds entirely. He could have run and escaped this place, Lucy thought, although he would be nothing more than a penniless urchin on the streets. Of course, he returned with a cooked fish, not wanting to leave his family behind. Lucy sincerely hoped that a day wouldn't come that he would be gone from her life for good.

They ate small mouthfuls of the fish that evening and it made for a much better meal on Christmas eve than what they were given in the dining hall.

That Christmas morning, the snow was falling and their hands and feet were cold, but still, the children got up and collected everything they had gathered into a sitting circle in the middle of the room. Lisanna hummed a festive tune that was often sung by the adults in the other wing of the building whereas Mira used a stolen spoon to prepare a breakfast of bread and jam to each dorm member.

Lucy read from the smuggled book and the children listened patiently as she read to them a couple of chapters before the bell rang out, signalling it was time to have their morning meal of gruel. Throughout the day, they returned to her so that she could continue to read, further cementing the idea into Lucy's mind that she loved to tell stories and wanted to write one of her own one day.

Their dinner in the dining hall that day was an improvement as Mira had said it would be; roast mutton and potatoes as opposed to their usual boiled variety. Plum pudding was their dessert – a rarity to have in the workhouse.

That evening, Lucy finished reading the book to the others and they briefly sang together before being told to be silent by their impatient house-mother who seemed to despise the festive time of year more than anything.

Lucy climbed into her bed, welcoming Natsu along with her as usual.

"Merry Christmas," she quietly said as she began to fall asleep.

"Merry Christmas, Lucy," he said back tiredly.

It was their first and only Christmas together as children. As Erza had said, she and Jellal were soon transferred away from their dorm room, separating from each other entirely as they were escorted to their new gendered dorms. Lucy found it painful to watch – the two were clearly much closer than she had considered them to be. That night she found herself scared for the day that Natsu would be escorted away too and she clung to her best friend tightly.

Mirajane left soon afterwards as well, separated from both her brother and sister now and Lucy watched as her dorm family slowly shrank in numbers. Gajeel was next to go, followed soon after by Gray.

That summer, the time came when Natsu was to finally be taken away, the youngest of the boys in their makeshift family. Lucy wasn't even aware it was happening until it was too late – she had been on her way back from an afternoon of sewing people's worn clothing back together when she saw the house-matron nudging Natsu with the pillow which concealed his scarf down the corridor, towards the male master, Erigor.

Lucy called out to him and ran. Hearing her, he turned and broke away from the adults before eclipsing her in one last hug.

"We'll still see each other at dinner time," he reminded her.

"And Sunday's too…" she uttered back, the tears already forming in the corners of her eyes.

Their bittersweet hug was quickly broken by the male master as he grabbed Natsu by the ear, causing him to yelp as he was pulled way, words were said about 'how he needed to behave properly around girls'.

Things weren't the same afterwards in F dorm. Lucy still had Lisanna and Cana until Cana inevitably left too, later in the year. A little girl named Wendy soon joined their dorms and Lucy took it upon herself to include her in what was left of their family, recognising with a familiarity of how scared and frightened the girl was when first arriving.

She saw little of her friends compared to the year before which only had Lucy relishing the meal times even more, practically running to Natsu with her tray so she could speak to him, if only for a minute. Unfortunately, she rarely ever got to sit beside him at the table as they remained separated by gender. Sunday afternoon was their only real time together as they relaxed out in the yard, playing with an old leather ball or just talking about how evil the adults were that ran the place.

"They shouldn't be separating family," Natsu said with irritation.

Eventually, it was Lucy's turn to join the women's dorms as her birthday passed uneventfully and she was finally able to see Erza again after a year was spent without sharing a dorm room with her. Lucy's tasks were still separate from the others as she continued to fix clothing with her ever-growing experience with sewing. She grew particularly close to Cana in her new dorm – the brunette providing the boldness to others that Lucy herself was nervous of showing.

When Lucy turned twelve, Kyôka became stricter with how much contact she could have with the boys until eventually, she found she was seeing less and less of them. Erza suffered immensely for trying to maintain her close relationship with Jellal and the redhead faced many nights alone for it in the 'dark room' in a stony outbuilding on the grounds – one with no windows or warmth.

The 'talk' inevitably came for all the women one day, about maintaining their virtue and chastity for marriage and how speaking to a man who was not their fiancee without a chaperone was the sign of an ill-bred woman. Any such woman who broke these societal rules, especially those that would engage in relations that would leave them with illegitimate children afterwards; that they would no doubt be forced down the path of becoming an illegitimate lady who would work in the seedier parts of town.

Whereas Cana scoffed at it afterwards back in the safety of their dorm room and Erza said something about the house-mother being ill-mannered, Lucy found herself worried. She didn't want to be ostracised by society and she certainly didn't want to be touched by men she didn't know. It wasn't enough to dissuade her from talking to Natsu when she could, but it certainly had her more mindful of how she might be seen by other people.

When Lucy turned thirteen, she met Natsu on the yard one last time during a Sunday, away from the watchful eyes of the house-mother, as he told her the sorrowful news.

"I'm being sent to work in a factory t'morrow," he said, taking her hand like he did when they were younger. "Gonna be stayin' there and everything."

"When will you be back?" Lucy asked hesitantly, uncertain if she wanted to hear his answer.

"One day I hope," he answered quietly although neither of them really believed it. Older boys often left, never to be seen at the workhouse again.

Lucy didn't want to cry – she had been seeing less and less of Natsu yet her heart was just as fond of him as it had ever been. She took his other hand into hers and together they stood still, unsure of what to say or even of what they could say. Instead, Natsu lowered his forehead to hers, the gesture strangely comforting as she gripped his hands tighter, interlacing her fingers with his.

Without really thinking about it and just going with the moment, Lucy leaned up ever so slightly to press her lips against his cheek, barely touching them for a single second. Upon realising what she had done, she blushed furiously and promptly pulled away from him. Natsu too, shocked, pulled back from her with wide eyes. A moment later, he was blushing as well but Lucy spotted the ever so small and embarrassed smile that he wore too.

She knew there and then that she wouldn't want anyone but him to court her when she would be old enough to leave this horrid place.

The house-mother caught them quickly afterwards, thankfully not having seen the innocent gesture of affection that Lucy had shown but dragged her away from Natsu regardless. He yelled out threats to Kyôka to not harm her but as a consequence, he quickly felt the brisk rod of Erigor in return.

Lucy spent the night in the dark room that evening and although she was cold and afraid, she couldn't stop the rapid beating in her heart as she thought of the last smile Natsu had shown her.

She didn't see Natsu again for the remainder of her time in the workhouse, nor any of the other boys she had come to care for like brothers. Her Sundays were strangely empty without seeing them although she still had her female friends to talk to. When Erza reached an age that she may finally leave, the redhead promised to find the boys – determined to find Jellal more than anything.

Lucy built a stronger friendship with Cana as well as ensuring that Wendy's education was improving through her teaching. The younger girl showed signs she was incredibly bright and aspired to be a doctor one day although they both doubted that could ever happen. Men would be unlikely to take her seriously in her desire to study to be one which had Lucy fuming at the thought.

Finally, when Lucy was sixteen years of age, she got to leave the workhouse behind too, finally free at last.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We'll be jumping to adulthood in the next chapter! I should preface that whilst I did some research for the setting of this fic, I am twisting it a little to fit the story somewhat. It was tempting to expand upon on everyone's lives further here but I managed to keep the chapter within my desired length!


	3. Chapter 3

"How's that, Levy?" Lucy asked as she adjusted the neat braid she had just completed in the aforementioned's silky blue hair. Levy grinned widely into the ornate mirror on her dresser that was in front of them. Lucy was attempting to give the hair a natural wavy effect by braiding it whilst it was still a little damp before leaving it to try overnight.

"It's lovely, Lucy! When did you get so good at hair?" Levy replied cheerfully. Lucy took a step back and neatened out her modest maid's outfit, it having crinkled a little from sitting.

"I grew up with a few other girls and we took turns to do each others hair," she answered, "but if you're happy with it, then I'll get on with getting the fire going."

Lucy made her way over to the small fireplace opposite the finely crafted four-poster bed and began placing several logs onto the metal grate. Levy had always preferred wood over the much messier coal in her bedroom.

It had been two years since Lucy began working as a lady's maid to the Dreyar family, specifically Levy's maid. At first, she had been apprehensive about working for them – having grown used to her life as a workhouse orphan and much of her original good manners faded from her life. However, Levy turned out to be one of the kindest of ladies she had ever met. She didn't look at her with disdain for the lower classes like so many of the other upper-class citizens did.

Lucy had originally considered herself lucky, with both finding Levy and being able to offer her a small set of skills despite the poor education she had received. Her needlecraft made her employable and being an avid reader of literature, she and Levy connected immediately, quickly moving past the need for formal titles between them.

Of course, she had to pass an interview with Levy's 'brother', Laxus, and even though he was fairly intimidating, he was satisfied with hiring her. The two of them weren't even related – Levy was the step-granddaughter of the family's ageing patriarch, Sir Makarov Dreyar, who had been overseas for the last three years.

Not only had the family hired her, but they had also listened to her request to hire some of Lucy's orphan friends from the workhouse too, with her vouching for each of them. Cana was hired as a scullery maid and Wendy assisted with laundry. Together, they all made quite a team and despite class differences, Levy often made her way down to the kitchens with a book in hand, eager to talk with them all as well as to gush over the latest chapter of the most recent novel in her possession.

"Laxus isn't having you do any work around the house tomorrow is he?" Levy asked as Lucy tried and tried again to light the fire. She had never been very good at that.

"I'm assisting in the kitchen in the morning but I have the rest of the day off," Lucy replied. "And before you say anything, I wanted to help! Making a Christmas feast for your family is no easy task!"

"Hmm, then I might help too if that's the case," Levy added. Lucy smiled back at her fondly, not one to insist it was below Levy's station or the like. Levy was free to do as she pleased, even if it meant helping her servants which only had Lucy respecting her more.

Finally, the embers of the fire began to grow and Lucy was satisfied with the result. She couldn't wait to tell a certain someone that she finally got one going for once. Normally, with all her tasks complete, she would be more than happy to just sit and chat with Levy as they did on many nights prior but tonight, she had other plans.

"If that's all Levy, do you mind if I finish up downstairs for the evening?" Lucy said, turning and hoping that Levy wouldn't dig into the truth of what her actual intentions were.

"Oh, are there still things to do down there?" Levy asked.

"Well, it is Christmas," Lucy replied nonchalantly and smirking. Levy eyed her suspiciously and Lucy prayed that her little white lie worked. What she planned to do was not considered acceptable behaviour, even if Lucy saw etiquette and status with blurry lines after her strange childhood.

"Hmm," Levy began. "Don't stay up too late then, I don't want you to overwork yourself."

"I promise I won't."

Lucy shuffled away from the fire and bid Levy goodnight before she hurried back downstairs of the manor towards the servant's quarters. Once in her single room, she wasted no time in swapping her shoes for boots and removing the maid headband from her hair. She gave her hair a quick brush and looked into her simple hand mirror to check her reflection – not a speck of ash in sight, not that she thought he would mind.

Without trying to elicit suspicion from any of the other servants although most had settled in for the night, Lucy practically tiptoed to the servant's entrance, quietly exiting the building. It wasn't as if she was forbidden from leaving but she didn't want anyone observing her doing so either.

She crossed the manor garden – much of it covered by a thin layer of fresh snow. Her route took her beyond that, to the small lake not far from the manor. She knew the way easily, even in the dark with only a small lantern to light her path. The moonlight hitting the snow made it much easier to see than normal which definitely aided her in the short trek through the snow.

It wasn't long before she was approaching a large willow tree – the Tenrou tree as named by the gardeners. She couldn't stop smiling as she approached, her cheeks flushing as she saw him there, sitting and resting his back against the roots and trunk with his hands relaxed behind his head of pink hair. He quickly caught sigh of her approaching and Lucy's steps turned to strides in anticipation of seeing him again – her Natsu.

Natsu was quick to jump to his feet as Lucy dropped her lantern and flung her arms out to him, he catching her as she then wrapped her arms around his chest and rested her head against his shoulder, nuzzling her nose against the familiar dirty white but soft scarf.

"I've missed you," she whispered, ignoring the fact that his clothes were itchy and covered in soot.

Natsu chuckled back and then placed his arms around her. "It's only been a week."

She looked up at him, unable to resist him any longer and pulled her arms away from the embrace to instead cup the back of his head. Stepping onto her tiptoes and closing her eyes, Lucy pulled him forwards to place a soft kiss onto his lips, gentle but eager to feel his. It had been only a week since she had been with him last, but it was a week too long in her eyes.

She cherished these moments where it could just be him and her again, where she could wrap herself up in his arms or sit on his lap as they traded kisses under the tree. Lucy was certain that what they felt was natural in every way but society had all these expectations that would restrict them, hence why their meetings were always secluded and secret. She knew Natsu didn't care about any that but she didn't want to be shunned and gossiped about when there was no need for it.

Of course, a single and gentle kiss on Natsu's lips was never going to be enough for him as he pulled her even closer to him, his hand cupping the bottom of her jawline as he responded with kissing her ardently with want and need, deepening it. His hands quickly found their way to her waistline, firmly planting them in the curves of her corset although he kept them still afterwards. Neither of them dared not to take it further although the kiss they were sharing wasn't helping. Lucy couldn't deny that she wanted him… but she could wait a little longer.

Reluctantly, Lucy pulled away, opening her eyes once more. "Natsu…" she said breathlessly.

She could see the lust in his eyes, as well as feeling the tingling pleasure inside of herself that came from just a kiss alone, although it was also clearly something that he was feeling as well. Natsu lowered his forehead to hers, closing his eyes. "I know," he said quietly back.

"A part of me just wishes we could run away from this all," Lucy said, resisting the urge to kiss him again. His hands still hadn't moved. "We could just be us."

"You wouldn't really want that… and I couldn't leave our family behind," Natsu replied.

Lucy felt herself smiling as she recalled their last conversation regarding a certain redhead. "Is everyone okay on that front?"

"Yeah, Erza's due any day now and Jellal's freaking out."

"I bet."

The two stood quietly for a moment… or it could have been minutes, Lucy couldn't be sure whenever she was with Natsu. She never felt like she had enough time with him – as though the clocks always knew to speed up dramatically whenever they touched. Perhaps that was for the best as the last thing she wanted was a child out of wedlock, diminishing her hope of living as a reputable woman in a house of her own one day. It wasn't as if either them could afford the cost of a child on top of that as well.

"Wanna sit under the tree?" Natsu asked, already pulling away from their embrace and tugging her towards it before she had a chance to answer. Natsu could be rough at times but she knew he would never purposely hurt her. He had some many qualities that she loved about him, the fact that he was so adventurous and carefree was what appealed to her most about his personality, on top of his loyalty and kindness.

He sat himself down, uncaring about the cold snow and gestured for Lucy to sit next to him, placing an arm around her lower back and resting it on her hip when she did so.

"The stars are really clear tonight," she commented as she tried to focus on the sky above her instead of Natsu's touch.

"Yeah… seeing any interestin' ones?" he asked.

"There's Aries," she said, pointing it out vaguely to him although she doubted he would spot the constellation – it was a small one after all. "And there's also Horologium over there."

Natsu turned his head towards her, his eyes briefly drifting towards her lips before he harshly looked back to the sky. "What about Draco? I don't see that one."

Lucy let out a small laugh and pointed towards another position in the sky again, drawing out the constellation with her finger for him. "He's better seen in the summer but he's up there alright."

Natsu grinned and Lucy felt him squeeze her a little tighter, eradicating what little space they had between them. This was how many of their evenings together went, only meeting at night under starlight, away from prying eyes. In truth, they had nothing to hide. Their intimacy had never gone further than kissing and the occasional innocent touching but that was certainly considered taboo behaviour in the society that they lived in.

"Hey, Lucy?" Natsu said and Lucy tilted her head towards him. "I meant it when I promised I'm gonna propose to you as soon as I can support ya."

Lucy knew she loved him and that she had always wanted to be that beautiful bride. Hearing those words of promise again reminded her to keep up with the hard work she was doing. She had her own small amount of savings that she had yet to tell Natsu about – hoping that it might contribute eventually to creating a life together in whatever they planned to do. For them, the issue was just saving the money to marry in the first place and on top of that, making enough to rent a home together as neither her room in the manor house nor his shared accommodation, far into town, was suitable for a young married couple.

Naturally, despite how Lucy felt, she was wary of marriage as marrying Natsu meant that all her possessions would become his by law, but he had told her time and time again that he wouldn't ever take that from her.

Unable to resist him any more, Lucy raised her head to kiss him again only to find he was already one step ahead of her, startling her when she felt his lips upon hers once more. She felt her thoughts scatter as her hand found its way to his cheek, gently brushing her fingers lovingly against it as she ignored all of her other surroundings except for kissing her best friend and soon-to-one-day-be-her-fiancee.

That was perhaps not the best idea after she had taken all of the effort to be truly alone with Natsu. With all of her other senses dulled except for the feel and touch of the man she so desired, she was no longer alert as she had been before. If she had paid attention, she might have heard the crunching of snow from not just one but two sets of feet.

"Lucy?" called a feminine voice.

Lucy broke away from the kiss harshly, surprised to hear her name called and quickly recognising it as Levy's. Despite Natsu's keen hearing, he hadn't responded either to their encroaching intruder, leaving Lucy to think that perhaps he too was too wrapped up in the intimate moment they were sharing. Natsu didn't release his hold on her either, much to both Lucy's relief and fear.

Her eyes found Levy, dressed in her nightgown with a woollen shawl wrapped around herself, several feet away, standing in the snow with her mouth agape.

"Levy!" Lucy said, barely catching her breath, her face flushed.

"I knew you were up to something!" Levy said loudly. "You have a lover?!"

Lucy's heart began to race with fear. She and Levy had grown close, that was true, but Levy was of higher class and perhaps took intimacy with another outside of marriage as something wrong and sinful despite never having expressed on opinion on the matter. Lucy could feel her position as a lady's maid slipping away as Levy struggled to find the words to say to her.

"Oi, Shrimp!" called out a harsh voice from across the snowy mounds, giving neither Lucy nor Natsu a chance to say anything as Lucy instantly recognising the voice as Gajeel's.

"Metal head?" Natsu said, looking over in the direction of his voice.

"Shrimp?" Levy echoed, confused as she caught sight of the tall man, stubbornly approaching them and leaving large footprints in the snow.

"Yeah, Shrimp," Gajeel confirmed, looking at her. "You're tiny."

Lucy was quick to spot the blush across Levy's face, she probably being unused to being addressed in that way by a man.

"I-I c-certainly am not!" Levy insisted, crossing her arms across her chest. "What are _you_ doing here on _my_ family's grounds?"

"Yeah, what the hell, Gajeel?" Natsu asked, letting go of Lucy finally and getting up with her already missing the feeling of being held. She followed suit, standing close beside him.

"Calm down, Salamander – everyone back at the house was getting curious 'bout where you were going all the time at night. I came to find out what you were up to… never thought it'd be this though, gihi," Gajeel answered mirthfully to him, although his eyes drifted back to Levy's with a teasing smirk. "Anyway, let me escort you back to the house, Shrimp."

"What-" Levy yelped as Gajeel stepped right up to her and poked her in the back, her eyes looking to Lucy's for a moment in utter bewilderment.

"Best leave 'em to it – I know what Salamander's like when he gets grouchy," Gajeel said, causing Natsu to frown. Lucy's touch to his arm was enough to placate him however.

Gajeel near marched Levy back and Lucy could only look on, finding the whole situation bizarre. If it had been any other man that was not a trusted member of whom she considered family, she wouldn't have allowed it.

With the two soon out of sight, Lucy felt that the intimate mood was most certainly gone as it was replaced by fear for her job. Natsu assured her it would probably be fine, reminding her that she often spoke of Levy's kindness frequently over their secret meetings.

Soon, Lucy somehow found herself coaxed into building a snowman with Natsu although she couldn't place how he had convinced her to do it late on Christmas eve. She swore that the man sometimes felt as if he had never grown up although his kisses would suggest otherwise.

With her status job security temporarily forgotten about, Lucy looked to their creation with glee.

"What are we gonna call him?" Natsu asked as he gave it a pair of pine cones for eyes, making it look rather horrifying.

"Hmm, well it's cold and made of snow… how about Gray?" Lucy suggested teasingly.

"Gray?!" Natsu answered in disgust and she swore he then knocked it over purposely, despite he then stating it was 'an accident'.

It was growing colder and late, the two eventually having to agree that they return to their respective homes although both found it difficult to leave each others company. Natsu gave her one long kiss goodbye before wishing her a merry Christmas, promising to meet her again the night after next. Lucy reluctantly returned to the house afterwards, a little comforted by the fact that she would be seeing him again a little sooner next time.

Despite the time, Lucy entered her little room to find Levy waiting there for her, demanding answers although she certainly had ' _dreamy'_ look in her eyes which hadn't been there earlier that evening. Deciding not to pry and not wanting to keep the truth from her any longer, Lucy went on to tell her all about Natsu. To her relief, Levy listened with no judgement and agreed to keep her secret although mentioned it was perhaps best not to let Laxus know yet – the man was apparently hard-headed about certain things.

Lucy hoped it won't be long until she and Natsu could finally be together properly, knowing that at least two people now knew about them. As long as she waited for marriage before going further with him, all would be fine, right?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Any guesses for what happens next? And no, it's not the sexy times chapter.


	4. Chapter 4

Lucy kept her word about helping in the kitchens on Christmas morning and worked alongside the servants, peeling potatoes and cutting vegetables. She was keen to learn how to cook filling meals herself although nothing as opulent as what was given to the household upstairs. It left her wondering what had happened to Mirajane, Lisanna and their brother whom she had only ever seen but not spoken to. She quickly decided she would use some of her spare time to look for them in town when she had the chance.

After Lucy was done, she stayed in the kitchen, sitting on the bench at the large oak kitchen table and happily chatting to the kitchen staff who were busy preparing pastry and pie crusts at that time. Levy soon entered the room with a spring in her step, her hair looking as wavy as Lucy had hoped it would be.

"Merry Christmas, Lucy!" Levy called out cheerfully, holding out a plainly wrapped gift in her hand. Lucy was quick to spot what it was from the shape alone – a book.

"You didn't have to get me anything, Levy, I'm your lady's maid!" Lucy said, hesitant to take the offered gift, the kitchen staff sharing uneasy looks at Lucy's use of Levy's name so casually.

"I wanted to… and how else are we going to talk about it together if you have not even read it!" Levy said, not hiding her desire for her to partake in her love of reading.

Lucy accepted the gift, unwrapping it eagerly to find that the book was a romance novel written by an anonymous female author – a common practice for any woman that entered the literary arts much to her chagrin. Levy immediately began to gush over how good the author's previous works were and really hoped that Lucy will enjoy the novel.

Their short conversation was disrupted by Cana who swooned in, evidently inebriated by the half-empty bottle of dry red wine in her hand. Lucy shook her head in quiet amusement of her childhood friend, unbelieving that Laxus had given Cana permission to help herself to a bottle from his wine collection in the cellar for Christmas.

"Merry…. Merry… hic-" she slurred at them before drunkenly collapsing onto the bench, the top half of her body haphazardly lying across the table.

Levy and Lucy looked at each other briefly before bursting into laughter. So far, they could both admit that Christmas morning at the Dreyar's was going well and Lucy only had an even better feeling about the day to come. She wouldn't have the opportunity to see Natsu but she would at least do so tomorrow evening and she took solace in that.

After listening to Cana's drunken ramblings at the kitchen table, soon the bells were ringing out, signalling a visitor was arriving at the manor. Levy excused herself to the kitchen staff before asking Lucy to escort her to the hall to see who it might be out of curiosity.

There was a bit of shouting outside and although it was loud, it wasn't aggressive. Lucy straightened up best she could as she and Levy awaited the footmen, Jet and Roy, to open the door. To their shock, the door burst open with a loud cheer as a short, elderly man made his way inside with a surprising amount of strength in him.

"This is my house, stop with all this pandering and let me inside!" he yelled at the two footmen. "It's cold and I want to see my children!"

Levy lowered her fingers from her lips, recognising the man.

"Grandfather?" she said quietly before dashing forwards to greet him. "I t-thought you were in Minstrel for your health!"

"I was but it was time I came home! Where's Laxus? Has he been keeping this place together whilst I've been gone?" her rather eccentric grandfather replied before quickly noticing Lucy.

"… Layla?" he said, his eyes in awe as Lucy took an awkward step back, the first she had heard her mother's name in over ten years.

"What? Oh, no, this is Lucy, my lady's maid," Levy corrected him, ushering him forwards to greet her. "Lucy, this is Makarov Dreyar, my grandfather, well, step-grandfather."

"You said my mother's name…" Lucy said quietly, unsure if she had perhaps misheard him and temporarily forgetting her manners entirely in the presence of the elderly, high society gentleman.

Makarov hummed quietly for a second as he peered up at her, discerning her appearance carefully before his face took on a look of deliberation. He shook his head as he came to a swift decision before breaking into a wide smile.

"You're little Lucy, are you not? Lucy Heartfilia?" he asked, further surprising her.

For so long, Lucy had just been Lucy. Not a Heartfilia, not anybody, thinking that her family name had been taken from her ever since she first entered the workhouse. She hadn't even used it in her short interview with Laxus.

"I-I… am," Lucy admitted, completely a taken back by what was happening.

"… You had better come with me," Makarov said, his tone almost sullen now, leaving Lucy fearful of what was to come. He couldn't possibly know about her and Natsu so what could this all be about? She was beginning to burn with questions – how did he know her mother, her family name? Why did he call her Layla?

To her relief, Levy joined her as they traversed the corridors of the manor, Makarov leading them both to a locked office that hadn't been entered ever since he had left the country. He grumbled once he had unlocked the door and let them inside, briefly complaining about the build-up of dust on his exquisite leather chair and mahogany desk.

"Levy," Makarov began, "Lucy is to no longer be your lady's maid."

Lucy's face dropped, fearing that this might happen although she couldn't fathom the reason for the life of her.

"Why?" Levy simply asked, placing her hand on Lucy's shoulder comfortingly.

"Simple. She's an heiress and shouldn't be working as a maid," Makarov answered as he began to rummage through his desk drawers.

"Huh?" Lucy said rather ungracefully, sounding awfully similar to Natsu whenever he was confused about something.

Makarov pulled out paperwork, stacks of it in fact, dumping it on the dust-ridden desk with a plonk and began sifting through the papers.

"When Lord Heartfilia passed away," he began to say, carefully watching Lucy's expression, "his estate was supposed to be left to his daughter. However, the Heartfilias were one of the wealthiest families of this country and a lot of unscrupulous events happened afterwards instead."

Lucy felt her knees wobble at hearing this, her unknown past coming back in a way she had never expected.

"Grandfather, can Lucy sit down?" Levy asked, already gesturing her forwards to take a seat in the chair opposite of Makarov.

"Oh, yes, by all means," Makarov said as Lucy quickly seated herself. "Long story short, someone pulled some strings to get Lucy out of the picture – I'm afraid I have little knowledge of what happened to you after this." His gaze upon Lucy was apologetic, as though he felt guilt for her plight. Of course, Lucy knew what had happened to her although she never knew the reason why until now.

"It was… a workhouse," Lucy glumly admitted to which Makarov looked pained and sympathetic towards her before he continued speaking.

"With Lucy gone, the Heartfilia businesses and estate were to be sold to the highest bidder and the capital to go to the next possible relative as per Lord Heartfilia's 'last will and testimony'."

Levy stepped forwards, no doubt feeling as inquisitive as Lucy was. "Who was the relative?"

"That's just the thing – there was no relative, the will they used was a doctored one," Makarov stated, almost seeming a little proud as he stroked his moustache lightly. "I knew this because I was Lucy's godfather and not that many knew about that, and I was entrusted with the real will."

"Godfather?" Lucy echoed, feeling utterly lost and overwhelmed at the information being thrown at her. It made little sense to her – still at a loss of how he was connected to her parents.

"Yes, your godfather. And I was able to produce the will for all to see which stated that the Heartfilia fortune defaulted to me with the Dreyars being long-standing friends of the Heartfilias. I chose to put the money into safe holding, just in case you were ever found, Lucy."

"Then this means?" Levy began as the realisation hit Lucy, she not one to swoon it certainly felt close to if indeed, everything that Makarov was telling her was true.

Makarov smiled boldly. "Lucy Heartfilia, I rightfully return to you your inheritance and title."

* * *

It was the day after Christmas that everything changed in more ways than one. Lucy, in less than a day, was finally going to use her long-forgotten family name, 'Heartfilia' once again. She had just been 'Lucy' for so long and it would take some time to adjust to. It would also take a while for Makarov to arrange for her family's wealth to be returned to her but for now, she was just in shock at what to do with herself.

A part of her couldn't wait to tell Natsu the news – but also dreaded it, knowing how money could change how people saw her and treated her, not that she thought he would see her differently. Not only that, but the news would also spread among the upper classes like wildfire and she would have so much more expectations placed on her from then on.

She didn't know if it would be better to refuse her family's small fortune and stay in her position as a maid of the Dreyars – if they would even let her – or put that money to good use and restore her family's name.

Her money troubles came sooner than anyone could have anticipated, as the Dreyar family was host to another family that evening that was well known to them, having had many dinner parties with them before – the Porlas.

As the soon-to-be wealthy Heartfilia heir, Makarov was more than inviting of Lucy inclusion when he wished her to be there for their post-Christmas supper. Lucy felt it rude to decline, even if she preferred her meals with the staff. She did, however, decline his offer of moving to a more fitting bedroom in the manor for a woman of her stature – not ready to part from her life as a working-class girl.

Levy accommodated her with some ill-fitting ballgowns which Lucy then used her expert needle skills to adjust them to her size and soon, she was dressed in memories of pink and white and was uncomfortably ready to attend her first meal as an upper-class citizen again.

The Porlas arrived in their dark carriages and Lucy first greeted them in the ballroom, they dressed in their finery and she believing them all to be amicable and polite, save for one who favoured the colour purple and caused something within her to shiver with cold and worry.

"Greetings, Lord Geoffrey," Makarov greeted the elder of the visiting family, shaking his hand as Laxus and Levy stood beside him, Lucy beside Levy.

"Makarov, you old fool, how have you been?!" he returned joyously before looking to his grandchildren. "Laxus, Lady Levy… and-"

The elder gentleman stopped in front of Lucy and she offered a polite smile, barely able to recall the correct manners in which to use in such a situation. She had opted to just follow Levy's lead but she couldn't shake the feeling that none of this felt right to her.

"This is Lady Lucy, of the Heartfilia family," Makarov said proudly. "I'm in the process of rightfully returning all of her family's wealth and resources to her after all these years."

"Heartfilia?! … I see, what good fortune!" Geoffrey replied although Lucy didn't like the way he was staring at her – as if she were some sort of prize. "Please, Lady Lucy, I would like to introduce you to my son, Jose."

He stepped aside as another man from their family approached them, tall and slim and a good ten years older than her. "Pleased to meet you, Miss Heartfilia," he purred and Lucy rejected the urge to recoil her hand as he took it into his. "I'm glad to see the Heartfilia fortune finally return to its rightful heir."

"Oh, erm, thank you," Lucy awkwardly replied, subconsciously taking a step back from him. She quickly found as the pleasantries were made between family members, thankfully with Laxus commanding most of the attention, Jose often circled back to her and not only did he make her feel oddly uncomfortable, but their conversations tended to steer towards her newfound wealth.

Music was soon suggested by one of the family members and Levy proudly played her violin both skilfully and gracefully that had the Porlas captivated. Lucy enjoyed it as well, having always listened to her rehearsals to offer her feedback. Unfortunately, she quickly found herself being propositioned by Jose to dance and she knew it was impolite to refuse without good cause. In her mind, she could only see herself dancing with those she considered to be her friends although imaginings of dancing with Natsu were ultimately inevitable for her.

Perhaps sensing her discomfort, Laxus was quick to step in before she could answer Jose, stating untruthfully that Lucy had been having difficulties on her feet lately and that it would be unwise for her to dance. Lucy managed to whisper a thank you to him in passing afterwards.

Relief came when dinner was served and Lucy sat on the other end of the grand dining table, away from Jose and his father. Lucy was unused to the more luxurious meal served to her but fully enjoyed it despite anticipating in the nerve-wracking atmosphere that was polite dining.

She honestly missed sitting in the kitchen with the rest of the staff, telling stories and cracking jokes as they ate together. Then there were the late-night picnics she had with Natsu under their tree, no manners required at all.

Here it was much more a case of looking pretty and only speaking when spoken to – like some sort of doll.

Once in a while, she would cast a glance over in the direction of the Porla patriarchs, noticing that they would occasionally whisper to one and another. At one point, Lucy caught Jose call over one of the Porla servants, whispering some instructions most likely and she thought nothing of it.

It was only later, as dessert was served and Levy was attempting to talk politics, although the Porlas didn't seem to take her seriously, that the very same servant came crashing into the room along with the yelps that Lucy instantly recognised as belonging to Cana.

She stood up at the commotion and saw the servant holding Cana by the back of her apron, pushing her to the floor and in his other hand, he held a half-full bottle of wine.

"I apologise profusely for the intrusion my lords, but I caught this thieving woman stealing and drinking from the Porlas finest vintages!" he exclaimed, holding the bottle out although in a more triumphant manner than accusatory.

"Is this true?!" Makarov said, standing and looking to Cana.

Cana bowed her head shamefully. "Y-Yes…" she meekly answered. Lucy gasped, not having suspected her friend would do such a thing and she knew there just had to be more to it!

"Let go of her – you're hurting her!" Lucy said, dropping to her knees beside her childhood friend and pushing away the servant's gripping hand.

Geoffrey was next to stand. "I never knew you had thieves in your service, Makarov, but it happens to the best of us – I'll have her arrested and hung, that bottle was worth at least fifteen thousand jewel – more than enough to meet the requirements of the death penalty."

"No!" Lucy yelled, clinging to her friend although Cana said nothing, her head still hung in shame.

"But she's a thief, Lady Heartfilia – this cannot go unpunished," Jose interjected, his voice mocking.

"There has to be an explanation-" Lucy began to say but Jose was quick to wave her off with a smug, satisfied smile.

"The Porla family can perhaps come to a more amicable resolution…"

"Enough!" Makarov yelled, banging his fists on the table. "Geoffrey, Jose, let's discuss this in my study. Laxus, will you escort Cana to her room and ensure she doesn't leave until we sort this all out?"

Lucy stayed with Cana, despite Laxus informing her that she should just sit with Levy in the parlour room until Makarov was finished. Of course, Lucy refused, Cana was family and she would stay by her side no matter what she was accused of.

When Lucy finally asked for her side of the story – the brunette insisted she thought she was taking from a bottle from the cheaper supply belonging to the Dreyars, as Laxus had informed her she may open a bottle to share with the rest of the staff that evening.

It was too late when she found out that the bottle she had taken from the cellar was one of Porlas, although she had no idea how it got there. Lucy knew then, that all the whispering she had observed at the dinner table earlier, that the two devious men had arranged for it to be planted although to what end she knew not. The true problem lay in that despite the obvious 'mistake', who would believe Cana over the rich and affluent Porla family and more powerful than the Dreyars.

Lucy was soon called back to the parlour room, along with Cana and Laxus where the two Porla men awaited them with pleased smiles.

"The Porlas have an offer in exchange for not pressing charges against Miss Alberona," Makarov glumly said, not looking at all happy about whatever it was that they had discussed.

"Well, what is it?" Laxus asked as he stepped in front of Lucy and Cana defensively, as though instinct told him to do so.

"Lady Heartfilia's hand in marriage," Jose said, stepping forwards in turn.

Lucy let out a gasp and shook her head furiously, "No, sorry, but I have to decline! There must be something else we can agree to instead!" At that moment, she could only think of Natsu's promise of marrying her and her desire for him to be the only partner she would ever have in life.

"There's nothing else," Jose simply said. "The joining of the Heartfilia family will be a profitable union for the Porlas – we would be stronger financially for it and you would be a member of our most esteemed family."

Lucy felt Cana shift beside her, leaning in slightly to whisper to her, "it's alright Lucy, I'll be fine. Don't marry that creep."

Lucy shook her head once again, in disbelief at what was happening. It was as if being a Heartfilia was a curse as soon as money came into the picture – she had barely been considered wealthy for but a day. She knew she couldn't risk Cana's life, no matter the reasoning. There had to be a way out of this – there just had to be.

"There's nothing else?" Lucy asked again as she avoiding looking directly at them.

"Nothing," Geoffrey answered reservedly.

"… You'll not see Cana hanged if I agree?" Lucy asked again, her voice vitriolic as she practically spat at the man.

"She will work for us until the day we are wed, my dear," Jose answered. "Then, she'll be free to go. If you cancel our engagement or if she flees, the police will get involved and I can assure you, they will be more than keen to assist our family."

Makarov grumbled as Levy curled her fists angrily. Laxus took a deep breath, his large frame almost towering over Jose's but the man maintained his cocky position.

Lucy knew she had no choice – she loved Natsu dearly but neither of them would want to see Cana dead.

"Fine…" she said, her voice so low as if she hoped that she was never agreeing to anything in the first place. Perhaps if it was her family's money that they were after – she could just give them that, but that was easier said then done. Marriage was the better course of action and one that would raise their reputation as a whole with a _'willing'_ Heartfilia heiress joining them in holy matrimony. It wasn't as if she could even divorce him afterwards – the courts rarely let women divorce their husbands unless he had been physically cruel to them.

The evening came to an abrupt end, as the Porlas escorted Cana out of the building to one of their carriages. Lucy reluctantly was asked to follow by her new 'fiancee' so that she may wish him a safe journey before he left. In the days that would follow, she would have to decide on a wedding date – something that was traditionally chosen by the bride much to what little comfort it gave. She would opt for a long engagement, reasoning she needed time to 'get her finances in order' and to 're-establish the Heartfilia businesses' and thus giving her time to think of a way out of this horrid plot of theirs.

She grimaced when Jose caressed her hand as he stopped by the door of his carriage. "Don't worry my dear, you won't have to worry about taking care of such things as finances, which are better left to be handled by a man such as myself once we are wed," he said, causing her to break away from his touch in disgust. "Your place will instead be at our home, attending to all the children we will have."

When he finally left, Lucy found herself breaking down into tears on the gravel path outside of the manor. After a minute, she took off, not caring if her pink dress became torn and ripped as she ran. She sought out the Tenrou tree, waiting between sobs for the only one who might be able to provide her with a modicum of hope and comfort.

As he had promised, Natsu arrived a little while later, only to break into a sprint when he saw Lucy's curled position on the frozen ground, hearing her meek cries all the way from across the lake. Although he was confused by her state of dress, he was quick to drop to the ground and take her into his arms as he pleaded with her to tell him what was wrong – having not seen her cry since they were both children.

She told him every detail – from her inheritance to the last words that Jose had said to her, her sobs becoming louder at the thought of having to carry any child of that man. Lucy could practically feel Natsu burning with anger as she recalled all of the deceitful events that took place during the evening.

"I promise I'll find a way to get you outta this," he said as he held her with his trembling but restrained fury. "No one harms our family and you sure as hell aren't marrying him."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As much I would love to sit and write more appropriate dialogue for the time period – I simply didn't have the time and wanted to focus on the themes and story instead. The next chapter will be in Natsu's POV.


	5. Chapter 5

It was already quite dark when Natsu was returning home, covered in ash and soot with several more jewels in his pockets. He was glad that he didn't bring Romeo along with him that day after the last few days he had had. The stars barely hung over him as he made his way through the dirty Magnolian streets, the smog making everything harder to breathe and the street lights blurry. His home was not far from the river's dockside which provided a scrap of variance in scent as the fisherman arrived home from their time at sea, bringing with them the smell of salt and brine in their journey.

Natsu's work as a chimney sweep made very little, but he saved what he could. He was resourceful, often trading favours which made use of his strength in exchange for bread and vegetables to bring back to his shared home with his family. Not that saving would do much for him now – he'd wanted to propose to Lucy, eventually offering her a home and warm hearth to return to every night as she put her pride into her job as a lady's maid. He reckoned he'd have enough for an older farm cottage, not far from the manor where she worked by the time summer came around. He would have fixed it up and made it into a home for her, him and his newest companion, Happy, a small alley cat that he had taken in when he had found him starving in the snow last winter.

He wasn't one for plans, money had always been a means to an end – never to be financed towards something. That was until Erza found him and Gray, informing them about the remainder of their female family members time in the workhouse before continuing on in her search for Jellal.

His own heart had never forgotten Lucy, even when he spent two years in a mine in the countryside, alongside Gray and Gajeel, digging for copper. He was originally told it was going to be factory work, but clearly, the workhouse saw him and his male friends as expendable, choosing a more dangerous job for them to perform. It, however, had made him strong, built up his constitution and made him more aware of the dangers of working under awful conditions. As soon as he turned seventeen, he left along with his friends who had patiently waited for him to age with them, the workhouse having no guardianship over him any longer and he sought out paid work.

He also had no idea of what had happened to Jellal – the man being older and disappearing long before he had been sent away. Erza was determined to find him. She needn't have bothered – he was the one who found her. The man had been imprisoned for thievery although his sentence was short. The two had united quietly, taking to the streets at night under a half-moon and Natsu didn't see either of them for two days afterwards.

Their relationship didn't matter too much to him although he was glad to see Erza happy. Natsu instead chose to look for Lucy, knowing that she should be leaving the workhouse soon as well. In truth, he knew he loved her. It had taken him years to see it, even after she had kissed his cheek so shyly back then. He was partially scared too that after so long, she would have forgotten all about him and he delayed seeing her. It was stupid, he knew, there was no way _his_ Lucy would have moved on so easily.

Erza later reassured him that she had spoken of him often and that was all he needed to go find her again, quickly finding out that she had found work for a reputable, upper-class family.

He'd surprised her as she was hanging out white sheets on the washing lines towards the back of the house, catching her on her own and using one of the sheets to pretend he was a spirit, sent to haunt her. It was hilarious in his head at least, and it made her jump with a small shriek before she recognised his voice, albeit it was a bit deeper since he had seen her last. She yanked the sheet off of him along with a disgruntled string of complaints before they both found themselves staring at one another.

She was very different from when he last saw her… with eyes that could make your heart melt, hair as bright as the sun and her body now all shapely and curvy with a bosom that could make any man's head turn and he was no exception to that. More than that though, he could see that she was still Lucy.

Like a moth to a flame, he crushed her into his chest, clasping her head with his hand tenderly against him as though she were a precious part of him that he hadn't realised was missing until he saw her again. His whole being hurt with want and relief as he felt her tears against his vest, her incoherent sounds and mumbled whispers into his shoulder as she dug her fingernails into his back in a tight embrace.

Natsu found himself silently thinking he had been so foolish to have not listening to his feelings earlier, seeing now just how much he had missed, knowing he might have gone mad with not having her around. It was then that he knew that he needed Lucy back in the family, back with _him_.

He met with her every night, finding the tree that they would meet under on a whim when he chose to explore the lake whilst waiting for her one night. They quickly agreed that it was going to be their meeting place from now on. It didn't take long either before he kissed her properly for the first time, as she talked about stars and all the stories they held – his eyes couldn't break away from her lips, enticing him to touch them with his own and so he, in a bold move, and quite unexpectantly for her, claimed them. To his elation, although she was startled at first, she lovingly reciprocated and from then on, he promised that he would marry her one day.

Now he just felt anger as he stomped through the streets. Lucy was being forced to do something she didn't want to and he most certainly didn't want in the slightest – all because money was involved. If Cana's whereabouts were still known, he'd be able to do something and Lucy could call off that engagement to the bastard. He was half-tempted to go to that lord's house himself and show him what happens when he threatens his family members – when he tries to take Lucy's future away from her.

The thought of her in a wedding gown and veil, crying as she's forced to promise to love and cherish a man who would blackmail her into it, infuriated him to the point where he might have even damaged the chimneys he had been sweeping with Romeo in the last few days. If she _actually wanted_ to marry that man over him, he could come to accept that… maybe. It wasn't exactly something he wanted to think about too deeply. All he really knew was how badly he wanted to see Lucy again, angered that at that moment, he couldn't.

Natsu finally arrived back at the house he rent-shared, leaving his brush and bucket out back and shaking off what soot he could from his hair – now more reminiscent of a light shade of almond than pink from all the collective dirt.

He headed upstairs, passing Macao and Romeo's room and then Erza and Jellal's, his drafty room being the largest on the top floor which he shared with Gray and Gajeel. Happy awaited him, the feline jumping up and rubbing himself on Natsu's legs excitedly upon seeing him.

"I know you want fish – Gray'll be back with something soon," Natsu said, picking Happy up to allow him to rub himself eagerly against his chin. He was pretty sure that the cat was also pleased to see him too and wasn't just after food.

Gajeel lay on his bed nearby and was reading a tattered book – unusual for him, Natsu thought but paid it little mind. The man worked in the ironworks, a demanding job but at least he seemed relatively happy despite the poor conditions they lived in. Gajeel's own cat, Pantherlily, lounged lazily beside him, clearly the tomcat of the neighbourhood due to his size. The black and white fur he sported made the cat look oddly elegant, reminding Natsu of all the upper-class toffs in the other end of town. Happy was still clearly the superior cat in eyes, no matter how much Gajeel gloated about it.

"Hey Salamander, you're getting ash all over the fuckin' place," he said, putting his book down.

Natsu grunted at him, making his way over the nearby basin and pouring himself some water from a job so he could clean his face and hands at least.

"You seeing your secret woman tonight?" Gajeel teased, causing Natsu to shrug in response. It wasn't really a big deal that he knew about him and Lucy although neither of them really cared about all this class nonsense and what was and wasn't okay to do with an unmarried woman.

It mattered to Lucy though and he respected that, more than happy to wait to marry her before he could truly be with her. He felt angry again, knowing that whilst they waited for the right time and savings, some rich man thought he could just take what he wanted as though Lucy were some sort of trophy accompanied by her glittering, family riches.

"No," Natsu answered frustratingly, unsure of how to even explain what had happened over Christmas. "I can't."

Gajeel was just about to ask why when the door opened and Gray entered the room, stinking of dirty smoke and fish from his job at the docks. He was down to his drawers much to Natsu's annoyance – the cold weather always had a habit of making him mysteriously lose his clothes. Following behind him was Erza, heavily pregnant but taking it in her stride as though carrying around a baby inside of her was an easy task. Perhaps it was for all Natsu knew, it's not as if he had any prior experience with an expecting woman.

Jellal was also with her, fussing that she should rest but Erza waved him off, insisting that it was nothing she couldn't handle.

"Why're you all here?" Natsu asked, not feeling particularly in the mood for socialising. He'd rather focus on devising a plan for finding Cana and ending Lucy's nightmare. Before that, he wanted to wash, put his scarf back on – the only reminder of his father, having chosen to avoid wearing when working at risk of it burning or getting ruined by chimney soot.

"Didn't know you were seeing someone, Natsu," Gray said grinning as though he'd found out a dirty secret.

It wasn't.

"It's Lucy isn't it?"

Natsu sat on his bed, noticing that Happy had run off to Gray's side, the smell of fish clearly attracting the pet although he found it was just a little bit traitorous of him to be behaving so cosily towards Gray. "Course' it's Lucy," he said, freely admitting to it.

"We wanted to just sit and talk, like old times… We were all worried about your sudden mood change," Erza said, gently cradling her bump with Jellal placing his hand on her shoulder. Neither of them seemed to care about the whole rushing to get married thing so that their child wouldn't be born out of wedlock, although apparently Jellal had already proposed to her but she had insisted to wait until their baby had been born first.

"You've been moping for days, Salamander," Gajeel commented. "So let's talk already before I get fucking sick of this lovesick act of yours."

Natsu relented, having steamed on it long enough and yet to come up with a plan to save Cana. He explained everything he knew – from when he unofficially proposed to Lucy all the way until her blackmail at the hands of the Porla family. Erza was fuming when she understood that Cana had been taken as a hostage essentially, threatened with hanging if Lucy didn't comply. Natsu also explained how he couldn't see Lucy any more no matter how badly he wanted to – if anyone caught wind that she was seeing a man whilst being engaged to another, that could throw Cana's fate in jeopardy entirely.

"So you're just giving up?" Gray asked.

"No!" Natsu near yelled. "I need to figure out where Cana is but all I know is that the Porla have houses everywhere, like outside of the city and even some in Crocus!"

"Why didn't you tell us sooner?" Jellal asked calmly. "We would have helped – you know we would have."

"Cause' Lucy wanted no one to know about us – she's afraid of all the stigma and that stuff…" Natsu said glumly as he wished she wouldn't have worried about it so much.

"What do you mean?" Erza asked, raising her eyebrow at him. "If you're courting her, what exactly is the problem?"

Gajeel laughed, immediately spotting the issue. "Cause' Salamander here isn't doing it properly, are ya? Is she with child or something?"

"No, she's not… we've just been-" Natsu began to explain before realising he didn't need everyone knowing about the treasured moments he'd shared with Lucy. The holding, the kissing, the touches in places that society would deem highly inappropriate although why that was seemed daft at best – he was only touching her face, arms, waist and hips. He wanted to touch elsewhere too but he'd wait.

"Natsu – I understand," Erza said sympathetically. "I've missed Lucy too, but clearly not as much as you have. Still, you had better treat her with the respect she deserves and wait until you are wed before even thinking about-"

Natsu had to interject, confused. "But you and Jellal clearly didn't-"

He didn't get the chance to finish before Gray had leapt forwards, smacking him around the back of his head. "Don't piss her off! You know what she's been like ever since we learned she was with child!" he hissed his ear. Natsu was partially tempted to wallop Gray back, but the energy just wasn't there. He'd rather put his efforts to saving Lucy already.

"Regardless of what is happening between you and Lucy," Erza began, "let's save Cana together as she is still family."

Everyone began to nod in agreement and Natsu clenched his fists, determinedly. "Because no one messes with our family," he said fiercely.

Three months passed after the makeshift family decided how to find their missing member. Erza insisted on leading the charge out of town to find her before Jellal managed to convince her to stay where she was, what with their child soon to be born.

Gajeel was reluctant to leave and offered to keep an eye on Lucy up at the Dreyar manor. Gray did point out that Lucy was unlikely to stay there in the long term with her financial gains and all that but Gajeel said 'it was just to be sure'. Natsu could have guessed that metal head had some other ulterior motive but as long as Lucy was alright, he could care less what it was.

Natsu, unable to see Lucy anyway, chose to leave town and was feeling strangely happy to have Gray join him despite their rocky friendship. Gray could at least navigate where they would be going as there was a good chance they would have to hitch rides on wagons or stowaway on trains, that thought alone almost making Natsu hurl.

Happy was left in the care of his family although Gray would no longer be around to bring back fish for him. Finally, Natsu sat down with Macao to explain why he couldn't take Romeo with him to sweep chimneys any more – heartbreakingly knowing that the boy brought the two the income needed to survive. In his eyes, Macao should perhaps pull more of his weight instead of relying on his young son so perhaps this was for the best anyway.

Macao understood Natsu's reasoning before offering him a little bit of advice regarding women that left Natsu with a lot of questions that he really didn't have the time to ask him about.

It was only a few weeks into their first stop – a country home belonging to Lord Geoffrey Porla, that Natsu thought about writing to Lucy. He was planning on keeping Erza informed lest the redhead comes charging after them, requesting status reports.

And so he wrote, telling Lucy about what he and Gray had done and how things were going. His handwriting wasn't the best but he knew she'd understand. He wondered what Lucy was going to do with all that money she had now – he himself not really knowing what he would spend it on if it were him in her shoes. The idea of living in grandeur didn't feel right… and he didn't know if that's what Lucy would want either. He still planned to marry her, even if she was considered of higher status than him now. She was still Lucy, rich or not.

Natsu focused on telling her what he could instead of delving into stuff like that. Things were better when they were together without them worrying about stuff like class or boundaries or money.

With the letter sent the next day in the small village that he and Gray had stopped at, he found himself looking to the stars that night, the same sky that Lucy so frequently and happily stared up at. He spotted the Draco constellation first as she had always pointed it out to him, tracing it out with her fingers for him and in that moment, he did the same.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's only a couple of chapters in Natsu's POV. I hope you enjoyed it and it wasn't too OOC for him (although that feels like it's near impossible to write a 'traditional' romance with Natsu in the same sentence…). Back to Lucy's POV next.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: Fluff.

It was Christmas Eve when it had been almost a year since Jose Porla had effectively forced Lucy to accept his proposal and unfortunately, only three days remained until the disheartening wedding day arrived. Begrudgingly, Lucy in her modest home was in the process of dressing finely for an evening at the Dreyar household, at their Christmas ball.

She considered herself to be adjusting well at first to upper-class society after being stripped of it from a young age. Being invited to balls and functions was a refreshing change from hard labour yet it was all in the presence of her blackmailing fiancee who insisted on dancing and escorting her around as if she were his property, getting particularly verbally aggressive towards other rich men that looked her way.

After several formal events, eventually with it all culminating at the Everlue summer solstice ball, Lucy vowed to make excuses from then on to not attend any more of them. Without her family there with her and being forced to be an unwilling prize of the Porlas, she began to hate it and longed for the days of returning to being Levy's lady's maid once more. Even when she danced cordially with Laxus at one of those events to escape Jose's clutches – that horrid man too polite in the company of so many other wealthy families to refuse, she closed her eyes and pretended that it might be Natsu that she danced with. Of course, it was always Laxus when she opened them again afterwards and he offered her an apologetic, sad smile.

The Dreyars had done their best to help her – from trying to locate Cana to seeking help from a higher authority than the Porlas, yet there was nothing they could do. Cana had disappeared and if it weren't for the occasional letters she wrote in her scrawny handwriting, Lucy might have thought she'd be gone forever.

Lucy's small relief from Jose's blackmail came from the letters that Gajeel was handing her, always when she was conveniently spending her afternoons in Levy's company, him often lingering for longer as he sought a way to make conversation with the lady bookworm.

The letters were always messy, with ink smearing in multiple places across the paper that they arrived on but Lucy recognised Natsu's handwriting easily – after all, she was the one who had taught him how to write.

"Another one from Natsu?" Levy would ask, always trying to peer over her shoulder to read a snippet but Lucy never let her. However, they were at a point where she and Natsu were more or less an open secret among the former workhouse family as well as the Dreyars.

"Yes, he's up north now apparently, checking out another mansion," Lucy replied, her heart lifting a little in hope that Cana might be found soon.

Natsu leaving with Gray to find Cana hadn't been easy to accept – even after she knew that she couldn't keep meeting with him lest Jose caught wind. The Porlas had at least five manor homes across the country alongside several businesses. Not only that but Lucy suspected that Cana would not be staying in one place for an extended period of time.

Lucy had only found out that the two men were leaving Magnolia from Gajeel one day as he handed her a note from Natsu, stating his intentions. Needless to say, the crying that followed was confusing to say the least. There was a dash of hope in that Cana could be rescued but being parted from Natsu all over again felt as if it were too much to bear at times.

Six months ago, Lucy received her last letter from Natsu and he had yet to send anything since then. He informed her that he and Gray had now checked out every manor house but there was still no sign of Cana. The Porla family had become suspicious too and the two had agreed to separate – with Gray returning home whilst Natsu would move onto the Porla businesses. Lucy selfishly asked why it couldn't be the other way around before berating herself for having such a wicked thought. As per her own protocol, each letter she received from Natsu was burned in the fireplace with not wanting any of the Porlas to catch wind of what Natsu was up to.

Lucy could only hope that nothing bad had happened to him, her mind constantly filled with longing and worry.

Coincidently, the last letter she received coincided with two unsuspecting lovebirds being caught by Makarov one evening. It would have been scandalous, what with Levy being found in the Dreyar's library with Gajeel, pressed up against one of the bookcases she so adored as he pressed ravenous kisses along her neck and collarbone with her short legs lifted up and wrapped around his hips.

Makarov, as Lucy had come to learn, was not one to deny love nor lambaste them for their actions and instead requested that Gajeel court Levy officially and properly if was serious about his affections for her. Gajeel agreed to that immediately and soon there was a storm among the wealthy Magnolian families as word spread about Lady Levy being courted by a man far below her station. Levy, however, was smitten by ironworker and could care less about what they had to say. With all the savings Gajeel had earned through his job, often earning small bonuses by his bosses for how well he worked, he was quick to propose to her and now they had both been officially engaged for the last three months.

Lucy was truly happy for them if not a little jealous that they had each other whilst she was forcibly betrothed to a man she didn't love and the man she did love hadn't sent her a letter in months.

Instead, she threw herself into making use of her family's money – opening an orphanage first so that no child would have to see the inside of a workhouse in Magnolia and where they would also receive a fulfilling, decent education. She tried to use her position as its main benefactor to influence other wealthy families to do the same but found she, unfortunately, lacked a certain charm to do so. She found she was unable to shake off her working-class self and the mannerisms that accompanied it, quickly deciding that she was absolutely fine with that.

Lucy also purchased a small townhouse and was quick about seeking out her family members that needed work – hiring Jellal who had struggled to find any because of his time spent in a cell. He was made her coachman, tasked with leading her carriage when she needed him to whilst equally offering him plenty of time to be with Erza and their baby daughter. Lucy was more than content to walk most places anyway.

She hired the Strauss's next, the three of them had been peddling vegetables at the market and hoped to one day have enough saved to buy and open their own public house. Their jobs only just got them by so Lucy stepped in to offer them positions as cooks in her household – at least until they could afford to do what they really wanted to in life.

Finally, she hired Gray as her footman once he returned to Magnolia, his previous occupation at the docks no longer open to him. Lucy, however, did not want her family waiting on her so Gray's job was mostly just a title for show, he choosing to help around the house in what ways he could although he took a lot of time off to canvas the Porla estate in town in hopes of seeing if Cana was there.

None of this, of course, would matter soon as the wedding date loomed. The moment that Lucy would be forced to say 'I do' at the altar would also be when Jose would lay claim to her family's wealth and property. She couldn't see a scenario where the man would allow her to keep her home or staff, he had stated plenty of times that she would live in his luxurious mansion where she would be expected to provide him with heirs – sons to be specific.

At that thought alone, Lucy grabbed an earring she had been preparing to wear and threw it across her bedroom in a cry of frustration.

None of this was fair. Not one bit of it.

She took a few minutes to collect herself and reminding herself as she tried to hold back the tears that there was still some hope that Natsu was still out there, perhaps with Cana and they were already making their way back to Magnolia.

This would also be her last Christmas as a free woman and she wanted to savour what little that meant, hence why she wanted to make effort at the Dreyar's ball.

She continued to dress, having no need for a servant in the slightest to help her and soon she was dressed in a flowing red, velvet ballgown. Lucy had also become fairly adept in putting on her own corset with no assistance from anyone. She put her blonde locks up too, leaving her looking radiant for the Christmas ball she was to attend.

Jellal awaited her downstairs, complimenting her on the colour of her dress, she knew exactly why he did. He offered to help her into her carriage but Lucy declined, choosing to sit with him up front instead.

"Why?" Jellal asked.

"Because this could be the last night that I ride with you and I want to know how you and Erza are getting on," Lucy answered honestly and taking a seat beside him.

Jellal let a small laugh but much like Gray, he didn't wear his emotions on his sleeve – not like Natsu did.

"Erza's doing well – she's already trying to teach our daughter how to hold a sword," Jellal answered fondly. "A wooden one of course, not a real one."

"A sword? In this era?" Lucy asked, wide-eyed.

"Yes, she's always had a certain penchant for them."

They took a detour on the way to the Dreyar estate, Lucy choosing to drop off the last of the Christmas presents for the orphans she cared for at the Heartfilia orphanage. She didn't know what would happen to them once she was wed and wondered to herself if it was cruel of her to open an orphanage knowing that Jose could shut it all down the moment he could. If it really came to it, she would insist that he at least let her have that if he ever wanted to see her even slightly happy. It would be a lie but she had to fight for what was hers somehow.

"Still no sign of Natsu?" Jellal asked as they continued on their way to the manor after seeing all of the children's smiles and happy faces.

"No… sometimes I think I see him out and about in town… but it's always just my imagination," Lucy answered sadly, determined not to cry – not to think of his bright smile, his warm arms and his voice in her ear, always suggesting something silly but so fantastical at the same time.

Jellal must have caught on to her inability to hide her feelings immediately. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked."

"I-It's alright," Lucy said. "As long as he's safe, that's all I could ask for."

* * *

The Dreyar Christmas ball was certainly a festive affair. Makarov had often used to hold them before his extended absence out of the country, but now that he returned, he had wanted his yearly tradition to once again continue and this time, he chose to do so at great expense.

A large spruce tree took centre stage in the grand hall, decorated in red and gold – the colours of their family's crest. Tables upon tables surrounded the outskirts of the room with lavish amounts of food – from canapés to pies, decadent cakes to huge bowls of trifles. Lucy felt her heart beat yet another painful pang, knowing that Natsu would have loved this. A brass band played traditional songs and carols in the corner of the room although Lucy did not feel the merry cheer that others perhaps would. It was an untraditional choice for such a classy affair but the Dreyar's were never ones to stick to rigid, unspoken societal rules.

What lacked, however, was as many guests as Lucy had expected to see. Many of the upper families were in attendance – the Everlues, the Sawarrs and the Crawfords in particular stood out and Lucy thanked her lucky stars that the Porlas had yet to arrive.

It was easy to discern why the attendance was lower than one might have expected from such a ball.

Gajeel and Levy stood together by the tree, unable to stop smiling at one another as they placed neatly wrapped presents underneath it. Their betrothal had caused more of a scandal than perhaps they had anticipated and as a result, several upper-class families had shunned the Dreyars. However, if they cared, neither of them showed it.

Lucy herself began to question why she ever feared being shunned as they currently were, should anyone have had discovered her and Natsu's more than inappropriate intimacy that is, as the two looked unbelievably happy together despite it.

If she could take it all back now, she would. She would have been with Natsu officially, regardless if they could afford to marry or not. Things might have turned out differently then.

Lucy found herself standing by the cakes, not at least bit tempted although she had already decided to sneak Erza out a slice of the strawberry one once the evening was over. Lucy heard her name soon being called by the elderly Dreyar patriarch.

"Lucy! I want to introduce you to someone!" Makarov called as he toddled over and took her hand into his.

Lucy was led to a lone woman with a faraway look but beautiful blue hair, her navy dress was of a non-traditional design leaving her shapely as though she were some sort of mermaid.

"This is Miss Juvia Lockser, heiress of the Lockser family, much like yourself," Makarov said with a smile before tottering off again.

The two exchanged polite greetings before Lucy suggested they make conversation over a glass of wine.

After pleasantries were exchanged, Juvia turned to her with her glass in hand. "Juvia really admires them," the blue heiress said.

"Hmm? Who?" Lucy said as she surveyed the room.

"Lady Levy and her fiancee," Juvia answered sincerely. "Not many would choose to marry below their social standing but Juvia believes that love is more important."

"I wholeheartedly agree," Lucy said, nodding.

"Is there someone you love, Lady Lucy?" Juvia asked, taking a sip from the glass of white wine in her hands. "Wait… you are engaged to Master Porla, are you not?"

Lucy shuddered at the reminder. "Not of my choosing…" she muttered back quietly. Juvia offered an inquisitive look but Lucy didn't have a chance to explain herself – the very man in question had arrived, tossing his coat to an unsuspecting servant.

His eyes scanned the room, Lucy already knowing he was looking for her, his snide smile appearing when he found her. Approaching her with his arm at the ready, he was quick to ask, "care for a dance, my dear?"

Lucy felt as though she had little choice in the matter, looking to Juvia apologetically as she was led away. Jose's arm found her waist as he began to lead her across the dance floor, holding her a little too tightly much to her contempt.

Without warning, he pulled her in close as the brass band began to play another carol, his face grinning at her suspiciously as she attempted to pull away to no avail.

"I've recently found out that you've had a suitor, Miss Heartfilia," he said although he was anything but angry. Lucy gulped nervously, thinking of Natsu, thinking of Cana.

"I-" she began.

"Don't try to deny it, not that it matters, I know you haven't seen him in some time. I have eyes everywhere you see."

"C-Cana-" Lucy tried to say, praying that her beloved childhood friend was alright.

"-Is fine, for now. I'm willing to forgive you, provided you go ahead with our marriage as planned, although you shall be escorted by one of my servants from now should you choose to leave your new home for any reason. I don't like to share," Jose authoritatively stated, his grip on her waist coiling tighter.

Lucy felt the overwhelming urge to slap him, spit in his face, even lift her leg to strike him right where she knew it would hurt him the most but held herself back, all for Cana's sake.

Thankfully, Jose's grip on her didn't last long as they both hadn't noticed Gray approaching them, he letting out a loud, attention-grabbing cough when close enough. "Lady Heartfilia?"

"What?!" Jose answered harshly for her, clearly unhappy about being disturbed.

Gray, however, not perturbed by him the slightest, continued to address Lucy. "There's an issue with the carriage."

"So? Have the coachman deal with it!" Jose said.

At that point, Lucy wiggled free of her crooked fiancee's grasp. "I take care of all business within my household, Mr Porla, and so I shall attend to the issue."

Jose huffed. "Well you won't be worrying about such 'issues' when we are wed – your focus will be on being an excellent mother to all of the children we shall have."

Lucy quickly recoiled from him, the familiar disgusted feeling returning to her as she caught a glimpse of Gray suppressing his own fury at the man's words to her. She quickly followed him out of the grand hall, barely hiding the fact she was stomping with rage as she did so. She didn't catch sight of Juvia however, who was last seen staring wildly at her footman.

"Thank you, Gray," Lucy said quietly as they walked down the corridors towards the gardens.

"No problem," he answered, "although there really is an issue with the carriage."

Lucy hurried her footsteps before she was outside the stables where the horses looked restless. Her eyes turned wide as she caught sight of her carriage with Jellal sitting comfortably at the front and having a conversation to a passenger beside him.

The passenger in question was Cana.

Lucy took off into a sprint, called her name desperately, not caring about the snow on the ground, to run faster just as the brunette spotted her. She too leapt off from the front of the carriage and quickly crashed into Lucy; a bittersweet hug between old friends.

"H-How!?" Lucy stuttered. "How are you here?!"

"Lucy, I'm so sorry!" Cana said, letting out a small sob into her shoulder. "I never wanted this for you – never!"

"Never mind that!" Lucy said. "How-"

"I was put to work in the Porla mines," Cana tearfully explained. "They moved me around a lot and forced me to write you letters to prove I was safe…"

"Then how did you-?"

"Natsu – he found me. He got me out of there a few hours ago and we only just reached town…"

Lucy felt her heart jump hoops at the sound of her beloved's name, her eyes desperately looking around in hope that he was nearby, waiting to jump out and scare her just as he had done that fateful day when he found her again as an adult. Her eyes found Cana's again, barely whispering his name to her when she shook her head sadly back.

"I don't know where he went, sorry," she said. "He brought me here and then said he had to take off… didn't say why."

The crushing feeling her heart felt was next to unbearable at the thought that Natsu had left purposely… perhaps away from her. Was that the reason that was why the letters stopped – his heart had moved on although he'd kept his word that he would find Cana? She was going to be free of Jose as soon as Cana was truly safe but at what cost? She still loved Natsu so very, very much, despite his year-long absence. She had never thought that he might have decided that all of this was too much for him – that he didn't want this… didn't want her.

"He's… moved on hasn't he?" Lucy said quietly, turning away before hearing Cana's reply.

Gray quickly cut in before Cana could answer. "That's not likely, I haven't seen him in six months and he was still talking about you back then – he's just an inconsiderate ass sometimes, you know that."

Lucy found herself tearful, trying to hold herself together as Gray spoke, his words were of some comfort at least. "What now?" she asked ever so quietly to Cana.

"So Natsu found my old man when he was looking for me… can you believe that?" Cana said, smiling proudly. "He didn't even know I existed but when he heard about what was gonna happen to me, he promised to take me out of the country – just for a little while."

"You'll be safe?" Lucy asked, knowing that an affirmative answer would mean her freedom.

"That's right!" Cana said and Lucy could have leapt for joy if it weren't for the fact that Natsu was nowhere to be seen.

* * *

Lucy embraced Cana for as long as she could before she had to leave, her father turning up to take away to safety, far away from the Porlas. She didn't know when she would see her again but if Cana was safe without the threat of incarceration and hanging hovering over her head, she could accept that.

Reluctantly, Lucy returned to the ball and was not looking forward to seeing Jose once more. She really, really wanted to call off their engagement there and then, ending this awful nightmare once and for all and ensuring her future along with her friend's safety as well, away from his money-grabbing clutches. However, she would not do that at Makarov's Christmas ball – his first one in years. It would be the talk of the upper class for all the wrong reasons and put an even bigger dent in their already dipping reputation.

She would pen the ending of her engagement in the morning and hand-deliver it herself as soon as she could. In the meantime, she took great pleasure out of wrenching the flashy engagement ring off of her finger and tossing into what she thought might be a rose bush although it was covered in a layer of glistening snow. No doubt a gardener would find it and he would be able to make a pretty penny off of it. If Jose wanted it back later, she'd just tell him she unfortunately misplaced it.

Luckily, the Porla men had retired to the drawing-room to discuss business with the other families over whiskey when she re-entered the grand hall. Lucy made her way back over to the table where she had previously waited at with Juvia, the woman still there and looking a bit out of sorts.

"Lady Lockser? Are you alright?" Lucy asked, cutting a slice of the strawberry cake and ushering a servant to go wrap it up for her.

"That man," Juvia said, pointing to Gray who had escorted Lucy back to the hall and was currently talking with Levy and Gajeel. "Who is he?"

"Oh, that's Gray, my footman. Why do you ask?" Lucy said, grabbing a slice of the apple cake, finding her appetite had returned with knowledge of the imminent ending of her engagement, as well as trying to distract herself from all thoughts that Natsu had abandoned her.

"Juvia… Juvia wishes to talk to him," was the heiress' response.

"Oh, uh, go ahead?" Lucy said, not caring who saw her shovelling cake into her mouth.

With Juvia preoccupied, soon capturing Gray's attention quite happily and with the two lovebirds that were Gajeel and Levy swooning over one another, Lucy found herself lonely and tearful. No matter which way she tried to see it, Natsu wasn't here and he had taken off instead of waiting to see her. He must have moved on – there couldn't be any other reason why he wouldn't stay.

When teardrops were clearly seen her cheeks, her forlorn expression unavoidable, Makarov was the one who made his way over to her, albeit a little drunk and wobbly and wearing a hat of bells as though he were a jester – always the eccentric character.

"What's wrong my dear?" he slurred, climbing onto a chair beside her and hiccuping as he grabbed another glass of wine to chug down.

"…I thought that… I might see someone tonight but didn't," Lucy vaguely answered. Makarov hummed at her, nodding as he grabbed yet another glass.

"You know… family is important -hic!" he said. "It doesn't matter who they are – family is family… always loyal… and you should always have faith in them."

Lucy briefly wondered if he knew all about her and Natsu – her eyes drifting to Gajeel and Levy, knowing they would have been the ones to tell him. She wanted to believe his words badly – Natsu was family, her family, their family. He wouldn't abandon her, right?

She didn't want to think about it any more. The evening was wearing on and she thought of Jellal, patiently waiting at the carriage whilst Erza and his daughter waited at home for him. It wasn't fair to keep him out any longer on Christmas eve.

"Thank you for the kind words, but I should get going," Lucy said glumly, putting her own glass down and straightening her dress.

"You do that…hic-" Makarov continued to slur. "Merry Christmas!"

"Yeah… merry Christmas," Lucy answered sadly. She made her way from the room, leaving Gray in the company of the Lockser heiress. He looked strangely scared but Lucy had known Gray long enough to know that look he held had more meaning to it – he was definitely interested in whatever it was that the heiress had to say.

It didn't take her long to find Jellal at the carriage, looking oddly amused about something but she thought little of it.

"Ready to go home?" he asked as she approached.

"Yeah, let's head home," she confirmed, dropping her formal accent and choosing take a seat inside the carriage this time, not wanting him nor the local population to see the inevitable tears that would come.

"I just have to make a short stop if that's alright?" Jellal asked. "I need to pick up a Christmas gift for my daughter."

"You don't need to ask, we're family, aren't we? Of course that's fine," Lucy said, her voice cracking somewhat.

Jellal closed the carriage door and soon the vehicle was on its way through the city. Lucy crossed her arms across her knees as she pulled them to her chest, wanting the night to be over already. At least then she could dream that Natsu was still here, that he still wanted her as much as she wanted him. Her fingers traced the condensation on the panels of the carriage door, idly tracing how she remembered his smile to be.

A good ten minutes later and the carriage drew to a stop, breaking Lucy from her haze.

"I'll only be a few minutes," Jellal said, opening the carriage door to inform her of that before closing it again, Lucy catching sight of him walking to a toymaker's in the midst of closing up for the evening.

"Heh," Lucy grunted to herself, feeling a little bitter now that everyone had someone. She tried not to feel so petty and selfish that everyone else was happy, with the ones they loved. She knew she should be happy, her freedom would come on Christmas day and no accursed wedding would take place on the days that followed.

She bowed her head sorrowfully, not sure if she hated Natsu for leaving her without a word or hating herself for not being worth waiting for. She pulled off her long silky red gloves, tossing them to the side, tired of getting her tears all over the fabric and thoroughly dampening them.

" _Why did you leave…_ " she found herself whispering into her palms.

It was at that precise moment, that the carriage door swung open at an alarming rate, causing Lucy to shriek at the sudden sound and movement as a cloaked, masculine figure hopped into the carriage, nonchalantly taking a seat beside her.

Lucy was just about to scream and kick at the sudden intruder, scared that Jose had caught wind of Cana's escape and had sent one of his hired goons to do well, something! However, the man pulled down his hood, leaving Lucy utterly wordless, her mouth hung in shock.

"How's it going, Lucy?"

There he was – all smiles with tussled rosy hair, speaking to her as though absolutely nothing was the matter. Lucy wasn't sure if she had just lost her mind in that moment, the undue stress and heartbreak finally breaking her and the man before her was a figure of her imagination.

She did the only thing that came to mind at that moment in her mess of emotions.

She smacked him hard in the chest.

"Ow!" Natsu yelled, nursing his chest. "What was that for?!"

"Y-You left me! You made me think you didn't… didn't-" Lucy yelled, nearly lightly smacking him again, confused about whether to chastise him for just leaving her alone and hurt all evening or to hold him, happy that she was finally seeing him again.

"Didn't what, Lucy?" Natsu asked, as dense as ever to the impression he had left on her.

It was all too much for Lucy, as she nearly collapsed forwards onto his shoulders, tears flowing freely despite thinking she had none left in her to give.

"H-Hey! What's wrong now!?" Natsu exclaimed, lifting her from his torso and wiping her tear-stained cheeks with his thumbs.

"Y-You weren't… w-with C-Cana," Lucy stuttered and hiccuped at him, her hands involuntarily finding their way to Natsu's face and cheeks, rubbing him gently as if to prove to herself he really was right there in front of her.

"Huh?" Natsu said before it clicked for him. "Oh yeah! Sorry 'bout that. I had to go do something once Cana was safe."

"What," Lucy said quietly, lowering herself back onto Natsu's chest as she moved her arms to tighten herself around his warm waist, not wanting to admit that she was afraid that he might leave again if she didn't.

"What, what?" Natsu replied as his hands found her shoulders.

"What was so important?" Lucy barely whispered.

"Oh, uh, this-" Natsu answered, removing his right hand from her and digging around into his jacket. Lucy lifted her head but her hands stayed firmly put where they were in her refusal to let him go again. She had no idea what could have possibly been so important and precious that he couldn't stay and-

A ring.

A shining, silver ring with a small heart and crown motif which she quickly recognised as a Claddagh, was sitting in his palm as he held it out to her.

"Marry me, Lucy?" Natsu asked, his voice not wavering but hopeful, he not bothering with any sort of grand display of affection and at that moment, she felt a little grateful for that in all honesty. It was just a simple question as his eyes bore into hers and she swore they might even be twinkling. No doubt it was her imagination again, playing tricks on her.

"Yes."

Natsu's smile was wider than she had ever seen it before he practically crushed her into a bear hug. She softened immediately, welcoming the feeling of having him pull her against him, his hot breath steady against her hair and his hair, albeit sweaty and full of dirt, brushing against hers. This was her Natsu, not some upper-class nobleman that threatened her friends or her body with childbearing, but a good man who was definitely rough around the edges with a heart of gold… most of the time.

' _Finally,'_ she thought, relief flowing through her.

After what felt like an eternity in Natsu's arms, he released her before grabbing her hand clumsily.

"Uh, what finger do I put it on?" he asked as he inspected each digit, causing her to giggle at his cluelessness.

"This one," she said, unable to stop smiling as she pointed to her ring finger on her left hand.

Natsu roughly placed her hand flat into his own as she shook her flustered cheeks at him, watching him place the ring onto her finger before he sat back, looking accomplished as well as in awe of her now ringed finger.

"So, can I finally kiss you now?" he then asked, sitting up and taking her hands into his with his thumb gently rubbing over the simple ring, grinning wildly.

"Hmm, well, technically… I'm still betrothed to another until tomorrow," Lucy answered teasingly.

Natsu scoffed, disgust gracing his face at the thought for a passing moment. "Yeah, fuck that," he said quickly and hungrily pressed his lips upon hers, effectively stealing a kiss.

Lucy could feel his warm palms trace up her arms as he shuffled a little closer, adjusting his lips so that they fit perfectly against hers. All tenseness she might felt during her evening melted away under his touch as she realised just how much she missed this feeling.

As a little girl, she had always thought she would marry a dashing prince on a white horse, as naive as she was in her childhood. Now here was Natsu – brave, strong, kind and filled an energy that could make a whole room come to life. He was careless and definitely inconsiderate of one's feelings at times, but he was hers. He made her insides flutter with little sparks of happiness and warmth, the feeling often leaving her questioning if he felt that too about her.

Natsu's lips began to move against hers a little more, his eagerness was all there but perhaps a year away from their last tender moment together had left him a little rusty in his movements. Still, she felt herself cinched closer to him as he tentatively made an effort to deepen their kiss by parting her lips and slipping his tongue inside.

Lucy didn't resist, more than happy to let him take the lead and have his way, having only kissed a few times with him like this before but it never this lust-driven, never so demanding that her belly did metaphorical flips in desperate longing and need.

She returned the gesture, shyly at first, capturing his bottom lip and tasting it with her tongue, letting the butterflies inside of her flutter harder as the kiss deepened further yet. With all that she had learned from her past year – Lucy knew she couldn't wait any longer. Her need to kiss Natsu was senselessly being overwritten by her desire to go home with the man she would gladly call her husband one day and she finally gave in to what she had been craving for the longest time.

"Spend Christmas with me?" Lucy whispered as she reluctantly pulled away, his breathing heavy, her sultry eyes drifting upwards from his lips to his clouded, green ones. She knew what she was asking and to be perfectly honest with herself, she didn't care in that moment what anyone thought about that either.

"I'm not gonna miss another Christmas with you ever again," Natsu answered plainly, her cue completely missed by him, just as she might have guessed would happen.

"No, erm-" she began, ready to make her intentions much more clear in her next awkward sentence, but then the carriage shuddered slightly, causing Natsu to lurch forward, suddenly looking quite pale and sickly. Lucy let out a yelp of surprise as he landed in her lap, the dirt in his hair falling onto her red dress but she quickly cradled him.

"Ugh, carriages…" Natsu murmured.

The door swung open of the carriage and Lucy looked over to see Jellal standing outside of it, offering a coy smile.

' _He knew.'_

"Y-You knew, didn't you? Lucy said, absent-mindedly stroking Natsu's hair with her fingertips.

Jellal held in a laugh. "… He asked me not to say anything – something about proposals are supposed to be a surprise?" he answered, enjoying Lucy's shocked expression more than ever. He was going to have a field day telling Erza about this.

"Were you ever picking up a gift?" Lucy asked, shaking her head in disbelief at him, tempted to whack him too for knowingly putting her through that temporary heartbreak.

"I was," he answered, holding up a book for her to see. "It's a book of fairy tales – a misprinted version so it cost just a little a bit less." The misprint was clearly noticeable, the title on the cover reading 'Fairy Tail' instead.

"Where are we going?" Natsu asked drowsily from her lap as Jellal continued to chuckle, shutting the door and taking his position at the front of the carriage.

"Home," Lucy said, smiling back at him although he pulled another sickly expression once the carriage rolled forwards.

She hoped Natsu would like her house – although she would have preferred that it had been something they had bought together, eventually. At least it was hers and she knew Natsu wouldn't take that away from her once they wed. She stroked his hair lightly again, not caring about the ash and soot that fell from it although she would be ensuring he would take a bath that evening. As soon as they arrived home, she would make herself clearer in what she desired, if he was accepting of that of course.

Finally, her Christmas was complete as Natsu turned briefly towards her for a second, offering her a crooked grin in his motion sick state.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, I went over 5k words… I was tempted to split the chapter midway but it didn't feel right.
> 
> The next chapter is smut, just so you know. I've done my best to make it tasteful and touching instead of it being something that will send you to horny jail. It can be freely skipped if you're uncomfortable with it.
> 
> *A Claddagh ring is an Irish ring produced since 'at least 1700' and represents friendship, love and loyalty.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: This chapter contains sexual content. Feel free to skip it if you are uncomfortable as no important plot elements are present.

Natsu couldn't believe how much had changed since he had seen Lucy last. He hadn't expected her to buy a small house nor hire some of their family from the workhouse. He wasn't sure how he felt about them being servants to her, especially as he saw them all as equals. It gave him a lot to think about as he relaxed in the bathtub of Lucy's private bathroom, adjoined to her bedroom.

He cherished the warm water, having had only cold baths in public bathing houses for most of his adult life. It was tempting for him to just stay there if it not for the knowledge that Lucy was on the other side of the wall, readying herself for bed and that she wanted to share it with him.

He hurried up and washed the last of the dirt he could find on himself, splashing water everywhere but not caring all that much as he was already keen to get back to Lucy already. One year of not seeing her, hearing her voice nor feeling her touch upon his person had been hell for him. He didn't know what Lucy wanted exactly that evening but he knew that he was positively burning to be with her. He could wait if that's what she wanted – he could wait for years more if it meant he wouldn't have to ever leave her side again.

He quickly awed at the fact that Lucy's home had pipes to dispose of the dirty water, watching the water drain from the bathtub all the way before he went about putting on his drawers and leaving the room.

He swallowed at the sight of Lucy sitting at the end of her bed, wearing a sheer pink negligee, exposing her legs and arms and that was incredibly atypical of woman's nightwear from his understanding, not that he was about to complain. She eyed him nervously, her cheeks pink and looking away from him quickly as though she were embarrassed. Excitement to be close to her quickly turned to concern for Natsu at the idea that she could be pushing herself into doing something she didn't want to and he wasn't about to let her engage in something she might come to regret.

He quickly went to the end of her bed to sit beside her. "Lucy… we don't have to… if you wanna wait or if it's too soon or…"

He struggled to find the right words for what he wanted to say to her. Normally, it would be so easy for him to just say whatever came to mind but he had to admit, he was a little nervous too and his mind felt muddled as his eyes were drawn over and over again to the thin material on her body, he imagining how she looked underneath it.

Lucy took a short breath, "I, um…"

Natsu turned to her, his hand reached out to grab her wrist as his other rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly, his slightly limp hair still damp. She looked up at him with her doe-like eyes and he swallowed nervously. He knew how much he wanted her but he needed to be absolutely sure of what Lucy really wanted. "I mean it, we can wait if you want to," he said.

He expected her to nod in agreement and they would agree to sleep separately much to his disappointment. What he didn't expect was for her to sidle up a little closer to him and gently run a finger slowly down his arm. "I don't want to wait any longer."

Natsu's eyes widened at her, almost unbelieving of what she boldly said.

In the cementing of her words, she leaned up from her position to kiss him delicately on the cheek and offering a sweet smile. Natsu couldn't resist letting a small yet wanton growl as he practically pounced her, pushing her down onto the bedsheets.

His lips found hers and he hungrily kissed her, causing her to let out a small moan into his mouth. His hand trailed down from her shoulder to her hip, revelling in her curves and the thin silk that she wore. Once he broke away from the kiss, her half-lidded eyes indicating that she was not regretting her words in the slightest, he began to place kisses down her neck, ending at her shoulder blades. He prayed she wouldn't ask him to stop – he wasn't sure he could now he'd started. All those nights without Lucy's voice, her smile, her touch and her scent- she just smelled so amazingly good; the fact that she evidently wanted him, hopefully as much as he wanted her, made it very difficult to control every urge that was coursing through him at that moment.

His hands, desperate to feel more of her, began to roam as she let out soft moans from the kisses he was placing. The curves of her hips were appreciated for sure, along with her amazing thighs and the soft skin of at the back of her legs, but nothing beat the feeling of when his hands found her breasts, cupping them lightly as she shivered in anticipation beneath him. It was becoming harder for Natsu to maintain a coherent train of thought as his excitement grew along with his anxiety of being a disappointment to her.

"Natsu…" She said in a low, wanting voice, her fingers finding his chin to gently lift his head from her neck. "We should move or we'll fall off sooner or later."

In his lustful haze, Natsu had remembered that they were in fact, barely on the bed and that would make taking this any further a much more awkward affair. "You make a good point."

He jumped to his feet, hardly caring about the very evident hardness that was becoming apparent and could be seen bulging from his drawers. Instead, he unceremoniously picked Lucy up into his arms, supporting her legs and back as he carried her princess-style around the bed to place her down properly, her beautiful blonde hair fanning out around her face as if she wore a golden halo. She gazed up at him, looking nowhere as timid as she had been, that was until her eyes caught side of his hardening member hidden beneath his drawers.

Natsu, however, wasted no time in lying down beside her and pulling her in for another kiss, deepening it further this time as he playfully teased her with his tongue, hoping that she might engage with him. He had no idea what he was doing really – he was letting his instincts guide him mostly but they were mostly screaming for him to take her already.

She reciprocated after a second, understanding what he was asking for and allowing his tongue entrance. Natsu swore he was drunk on her, unable to control himself and needing more as his hands found her breasts again, fondling them as she moaned into his mouth.

He reluctantly pulled away, eliciting a small but disappointed whimper from his fiancee from his sudden departure from her lips. Natsu was quick to make his intentions clear as his hands quickly traversed down her body to the hem of her negligee, fiddling with the lace at the ends as he began to tug it upwards. "Can I?"

Lucy nodded back keenly. "Yes."

Natsu gripped the material as she sat up and then yanked it perhaps too harshly over her head. She let out a yelp of surprise but he was too in awe of her to notice. Her face caught fire as he gazed over her, fully unclothed before him and he wasn't sure what to say. She was beautiful but there was so much more to say than just that. He was no poet and he wasn't sure on how to tell her just how amazing he thought she, was for all the reasons that made her Lucy.

Being a man of impulse, he went with just deciding to show her just how much he loved her and gently pushed her down, taking in full view of her body before making a beeline for her voluptuous chest once again with his hands. It wasn't long before his hands soon roamed once again with the need to touch every part of her. His lips found their way back to her neck, trailing kisses downwards until they reached one of her perfectly erect nipples, unable to resist rolling his tongue over the bud.

Lucy let a small gasp at this although it definitely sounded like a gasp of pleasure to him and Natsu caught himself smiling in pride that he could do that to her. The scent of her was near overwhelming as he found himself licking and nipping at her, feeling the sweat in the parts of her body where their skin had touched, to the point where the room felt as though it were steaming from a concoction of desire and rose-scented bathwater. He soon returned upwards to her neck as to tease her further. He was quickly alerted to Lucy's shaky, wandering hands, fiddling with his drawers and tugging at them with a yearning need.

Natsu paused for a moment, lifting his lips from her neck and looked at her through heavy-lidded eyes as if it to truly discern that this is what she really wanted. She also halted with her fingertips hooked over the waistline of his drawers, as if she were asking him the same thing. They both knew the risks, both being unwed and Lucy still technically betrothed to another – officially at least. Knowing that made Natsu more impatient to show her just how much he needed her and not just in this lust-filled moment, but for always.

When she said nothing, Natsu felt he should ask, just to be absolutely sure. "Lucy, do you-"

He didn't get a chance to finish asking as she propped herself up, her breath in his ear as she moved to place a kiss on his neck, causing him to shiver a little in anticipation above her. Her lips against his skin were a new sensation to him and one that was making him rapidly lose control of his senses as he couldn't help but let out a small purr of excitement.

She made her way back to his lips, mimicking the same patterns as he had done to her with his own lips before her hands continued to pull down on his drawers and it was almost all too much for him. He let out another low growl as she looked up at him, her expression coy and sultry. He hungrily launched a cascade of hot kisses across her cheek, landing at her lips once more, claiming them and her.

Once Lucy had fully pulled down his drawers, he felt himself unsheathed as he kicked them off impatiently. He'd thought of Lucy many times over the years in not dissimilar situations to what they were doing now but nothing compared to finally reaching that moment. His onslaught on her lips and mouth continued as she moaned into him, his hands deftly finding their way to her legs and parting them.

Lucy gasped as he lowered himself a little, his hardness pressing against her thigh. He pulled away from her mouth as he felt her tense beneath him. For a moment, Natsu began to doubt himself at the unbearable thought that Lucy might change her mind at the last moment and would decide that she didn't want this experience to be with him. His own timorous thoughts must have been caught by her as she lifted her arm to part some of his steaming dewy hair out of his face before gently rubbing his cheek reassuringly, something he couldn't help but close his eyes to before nuzzling against her palm slightly.

After a moment, he tenderly lowered himself back to her lips, placing a chaste kiss before pressing his forehead against hers. "Relax, okay?" he uttered with a steady voice. Lucy nodded and took a breath as Natsu found himself running his fingertips over her thighs as if to tease her. She wiggled, as though she were ticklish but it felt as if she were growing warm beneath him, as if his very touch was setting fire to all her nerve endings and he tentatively moved his fingers upwards, finding delicate folds that were slickly coated and wet. He shuddered at the feel, his member twitching as he made a conscious effort to ignore the instinct to just take her in that moment.

Lucy let out a small whine and Natsu briefly marvelled at the little sounds he could evoke from her. He moved his fingers ever so slightly to begin gently stroking her. He found this elicited Lucy to drape her arms around his neck as she murmured his name, her hips wiggled once again with impatience. Natsu took that as his cue to readjust himself so that he was firmly on top of her with his arms and elbows taking the entirety of his weight.

"I trust you," she whispered as she released her arms from his neck to capture one last kiss from him before they both finally gave into their greatest desire.

Natsu recalled all the advice he had received from Macao from all those months ago when he had declared to the household of his intentions to marry Lucy as soon as Cana was safe. He knew that he might not last long or that she might ask him to stop and that would be completely normal. He was a little thankful she hadn't physically touched him down there as he wasn't sure if he would have ever made it this far. His determination to prove to Lucy that he could be a good lover was going to be what pushed him to make this as enjoyable for her as he could.

He lined himself up, her wetness lightly coating the tip of him which made him take a breath as he felt pleasure mounting from that small action alone. He looked back to her as he began to slip in, the tightness of her making him unable to hold back a gratified groan and she, in turn, let out a small gasp. He halted briefly when he felt a small amount of resistance as Lucy's face contorted slightly in discomfort.

Natsu briefly considered stopping, not bearing the thought of seeing her in any pain and subconsciously he began to pull away from her.

"K-Keep going…" Lucy uttered, her voice wispy but sure-sounding as her fingers gripped around the muscles of his arms.

Natsu flexed his hips with uncertainty and began to push ever so slowly in, focusing on Lucy's face whilst taking a breath as the tightness of her squeezed around him. Ignoring just how good it felt for him physically, the wonderment that he was finally at one with her was near enough to send him over the edge. He knew he could never, ever, be away from her for so long again – definitely never alone, especially not after this.

When she nodded to him, signalling for him to keep going, he fully but carefully pushed into her, holding for just a second to restrain the need to release before he began to pick up speed in his rhythmic but gentle thrusts.

The pleasure felt as though it was shattering him from the inside and her jagged breaths soon turned to moans. He felt hot, almost unbearably so, which was the weirdest of sensations he had felt yet, having thought himself to be impervious to such a feeling. Beads of sweat rolled down his back, his and her body becoming slick as her hands alternated between gripping his back and his wet hair.

Lucy seemed to lose herself entirely – her modesty and timidness gone as she hooked her legs around him and he picked up his pace, the sounds of her moans turning into that of his name, rolling off her tongue over and over again. Her hips began to grind against him as though she craved more of him and he lost himself in the moment. The constant pleasure was beyond his limits now and when she buckled her hips against his, he pressed all that he had into her, shuddering when he felt that he could no longer hold himself back as Lucy said his name louder than before. She squeezed him tightly before her face took on the look of absolute ecstasy.

His release came in waves and he couldn't stop back the gravelly moan of her name escaping his lips as he near collapsed on top of her. Natsu felt so good – amazingly good to the point where he thought nothing else could possibly compare to it. He managed to prop himself on his elbows, panting wildly as Lucy went limp beneath him, her own small pants in chorus with his.

He briefly pressed his forehead against hers once more before breathlessly pulling out, rolling over and flopping down beside her.

Natsu was awestruck at how he could feel that happy, how complete he felt. He rolled to his side to pull Lucy close to him, hoping she was currently feeling the same way. He sensed she was a little surprised by his sudden need to hold her so close but then she wedged herself even closer to him, her long hair sticking to his sweaty arms.

He sleepily closed his eyes, enjoying the feeling of just having her in his arms in their aftermath. He wanted to stay like that forever if he could.

"Natsu?" she uttered, her voice muffled by how close he was holding her to his chest.

"Hmm?" he mumbled back, finding the urge to sleep quickly overtaking him, the mixture of Lucy's scent combining with his, creating the perfect concoction of calmness for him.

"You're never leaving again, are you?"

He pulled her a little closer if that was even possible, knowing she would probably pull away due to lack of air at any second.

"We're always gonna be together," he said before he let his tiredness finally claim him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Uhhhh, okay, so, this was my first published lemon/smut. I have absolutely no idea of how well it will be received by you guys. I know it's fairly vanilla going by half the stuff you can find on here but I was aiming for it to be a tasteful, first-time intimate scene with the focus being more on their experience than it just being straight-up porn.  
> It also takes place in an era where people didn't like to use the word 'pregnant' because it was associated with sex, so I couldn't imagine either of them being too adventurous on their first time… but other times though? ;-)
> 
> The next chapter will be the last one in this story. I hope you've enjoyed reading it so far!


	8. Chapter 8

Lucy spent Christmas morning sleeping in, incredibly reluctant to move from Natsu's side, their limbs entangled after the night that they had shared together. It had been still dark when she had awoken but soon rays of clouded light were leaking in through her windows, the curtains still open after forgetting all about closing them in her lust-driven desires. She caught the sight of snowflakes falling, the makings of a perfect Christmas day although she was confident she couldn't have things any better.

Natsu was softly breathing against her neck, his firm chest and abdomen providing enough heat that she thought she could have been cosied up to a literal fireplace. Lucy buried herself a little more into him if that was possible, wanting to savour every wonderful moment.

She had no regrets about last night. Not one.

She had seen the eldest of her childhood friends, Erza and Jellal, freely love each other without a care in the world what anyone thought of them, especially after Erza became with child. Levy was next – a woman from a background that would have similar to hers if not for Lucy's time in a workhouse. It had her stifling a giggle at the thought that she never would have met Gajeel if it weren't for her late-night rendezvous' with Natsu. And although she didn't stay long enough to see what had happened to Gray, she noticed the look in Juvia's eyes when she went to approach him – a bold and unexpected move of an heiress. If Lucy didn't know any better, she would say it was love at first sight… well, for one of them at least.

Lucy berated herself a little internally, thinking herself foolish to stick to society's morals and deny herself the only man she was convinced that he would be the only one she would ever really love so deeply. She knew there was a chance she could conceive a child now, but it didn't nag at her like she thought it would. She couldn't care less if families like the Porlas shunned her from then on as she didn't want to associate with them anyway and with her family's wealth, she could ensure that any child she had was dressed and fed, not to mention the love they would receive would be immeasurable.

Her eyes roamed over to her left hand, gently pressed against Natsu's chest to take another look at the simple ring on her finger. She didn't know when they would marry, the decision falling to her once more onto picking the date. Without really knowing why or thinking too much on it, her heart was telling her to get married in the summer… if Natsu was accepting of that. She didn't see why he wouldn't be.

Lucy breathed in deeply, unbelieving of just how content and happy she felt. She really, really didn't want to move just yet. Christmas could wait a little longer but that wasn't the issue.

She wanted to formally end that horrid engagement to Jose once and for all.

Lucy wiggled a little, trying to escape Natsu's tight hold on her without waking him. She could only imagine how tired he was if he had rushed back to Magnolia with Cana after a year of trying to rescue her.

Natsu was quick to pull her back to him as she managed to untangle her legs from his and had just been beginning to turn away. This was quickly followed by quiet murmurs, Lucy smiling at the sound of him upon realising that his sleep talking hadn't receded since they were both children.

"Natsu, I have to get up – I don't want to stay engaged to Jose," she said lightly, trying to wiggle away again.

"Stay with me," Natsu said back tiredly and gripped her little more.

"I'll be back as soon as I can," Lucy whispered back, planting a chaste kiss on his cheek which seemed to accomplish the task of making Natsu loosen his hold on her.

Lucy slipped out of bed, finding her dressing robe before tiptoeing into her bathroom to clean herself up before heading down to her study to pen the official ending of her betrothal to Jose Porla, knowing it will bring the highest dishonour to her name but it also felt incredibly freeing too. With the letter soon finished, the Heartfilia crest firmly stamped into the wax seal, Lucy knew she had to deliver it as soon as possible. Her first thought was to go there herself, knowing the walk to the Porla residence would take an hour on foot but she dared not call upon anyone else do it on Christmas day.

Deciding to fetch a glass of water before changing, she stopped by the kitchen, quiet and empty as the Strauss's would still be at home, perhaps having opened their gifts by now. To her surprise, she found noises from the pantry before she noticed Elfman leave it with a handful of ingredients.

"Lucy? I thought you might've still been sleeping," he said, putting down the contents in his arms.

"And I thought you would be with Mira and Lisanna!" Lucy said, almost lambasting him for abandoning them on Christmas.

"We all got up at a manly hour – they're out carolling and I want to make a start on supper!" Elfman stated proudly, reaching into cupboards for bowls and porcelain jugs.

"But I gave you all the day off to be with one another!"

"Family is important, but you are family too, Lucy," Elfman answered her. "So we're going to celebrate, as a family in your house."

"My house?!" Lucy barked back, shocked at the audacity of her friends to invite themselves over. Clearly, although she was considered a lady now, her closest companions saw her still as just little orphan Lucy.

She preferred it that way.

"Erza and Jellal will arrive this afternoon, Gajeel too and wait- what do you have there?" Elfman asked, noticing the letter in her hand.

"Oh," Lucy answered, reminded of why she was up in the first place and not in the arms of her true fiancee. "I was going to deliver this to the Porlas – I'm officially breaking the engagement."

"That's manly of you!" Elfman said, placing his hands on his waist proudly at her. "I heard about what happened, it's good to know that Cana's safe."

"Yeah, it is," Lucy agreed.

"Let me take it for you, Lucy," Elfman then said, holding his hand out to her. "It's Christmas and I don't think you want to be anywhere near the Porla manor today."

That was certainly true. She would have hated to have had to talk to any of them, Jose in particular as she handed the letter to his servants. Lucy didn't even want to consider his reaction, knowing from social engagements with him that he had a cruel temper. This was her task, however, and she would end it herself.

"That's okay, Elfman, I will place it into Jose's hands myself if I have to," Lucy answered earnestly.

Elfman smiled, crossing his arms over his tall and hard chest. "I thought you might say that so I will accompany you – it's the manly thing to do!"

Lucy didn't refuse, having a friend with her would make it easier and with Elfman's size, she doubted any of the Porla servants would try to stop her from leaving.

She quietly returned to her chambers, giggling a little when she found Natsu now spread-eagle across the bed, the winter quilt covering only his lower-half and he was partially drooling in his slumber. She couldn't resist pattering over to him to press another gentle kiss to his cheeks.

"I'm going to deliver the letter – don't worry, Elfman will be with me," she said quietly before combining back some of his wild hair from his face. He murmured something intangible back and Lucy only found herself smiling at him, hardly believing that he could sleep through her touches so easily.

She changed quickly although putting on the number of layers that she didn't help with that. It wasn't long before she left Natsu sleeping soundly, eager to rejoin him as soon as she could.

* * *

Lucy was giddy with laughter as she walked away from the Porla's Magnolian home as Elfman towered over her, pleased to have been of assistance to one of the kindest of his friends. When she arrived, the servants were confused to say the least, having never expected to make an unannounced visit. She felt sorry for them of course, as they rushed around the immaculately decorated home as they prepared a Christmas celebration for the family. She thought they might have had their own families to be with but both Lord Geoffrey and Jose had shown they cared little for the working class.

She had opted to ask a servant to deliver to the letter to Jose but the male servant insisted he would go fetch the Master, perhaps out of not wanting to be the bearer of bad news himself.

As Lucy waited with Elfman in the lobby, not daring to step any further into the mansion, Jose eventually appeared, surprised but definitely pleased to see his would-be wife waiting for him.

He opened his smirking mouth to greet her but Lucy was quick to cut him off. "I officially call an end to our betrothal. There will be no wedding and I hope to never have the pleasure of convening with you again."

Jose looked flabbergasted, snatching the letter before sneering at her. "Then that maid will hang."

"No, she won't," Lucy answered, crossing her arms and looking to him triumphantly. "Furthermore, I am now engaged to another so it will be highly inappropriate for you to have any further contact with me."

"You are?" Elfman asked, catching Lucy a little off guard as she remembered that she had yet to tell anyone about Natsu's proposal.

"I am. To a good and honest man," Lucy answered, whereas Jose looked as though he were fuming in his dark purple suit. "Now, I shall take my leave… Merry Christmas."

Lucy moved quickly, not daring to look back or speak another word out of caution of what Jose might do next. Elfman followed, a wide grin on his face as he stared down any servants that might seek to bar their path.

"The Heartfilia fortune will be mine, one way or another!" Jose called angrily. "You'll see what happens when you dare cross **my** family!"

Lucy ignored him, taking each step in stride, her fingers fiddling with her new engagement ring her finger as though it was giving her the strength she needed. She didn't know what Jose could do – she knew he was powerful, his whole family was, but his shouting was akin to that of a fool that knows he's already lost.

"That was so manly!" Elfman said, shaking his fist exuberantly in the air. "And you're getting married to someone else already?"

"Yeah, I am," Lucy replied, dropping her formal tongue and holding up her ring finger with pride. "Natsu's finally home and he proposed!"

Elfman wouldn't stop offering his congratulations after that, repeatedly, all the way home. Lucy didn't mind, the Strauss brother always excitable and impressed by any small number of feats. They ran into Mira and Lisanna, with their songbooks and lanterns, dressed warmly for the wintery conditions. The fresh snow was a nice touch to the festive atmosphere but difficult to walk in. Elfman was quick to announce Lucy's engagement to them for her and the elated congratulations she received as a result felt as though they would never end.

* * *

Natsu roused from his sleep slowly, but only because his stomach was starting to rumble with hunger. He did want to eat but he was also so comfortable in this bed which was so soft and supported his back just right. He lazily opened an eye as he regained awareness of surroundings, having never felt more relaxed in his life. He never thought that being that close to Lucy could feel that good and he rolled over to his side, his arm going to find her.

She wasn't there.

Natsu quickly sat up, confused as to where she went. Was it that late already? Did he miss Christmas entirely? It felt like after the long sleep he had, his legs still ached a little from all the hasty walking he did from the day before. Then he finally got to be with Lucy in a way he hadn't anticipated happening until she married him, the thought replacing the rumbling of his stomach with the flutters of butterflies instead.

He looked around again for her, wanting nothing more than to drag her back to bed, just to be close to her. If she wanted, they could even have a repeat of last night as he was keen to find out what other ways he could make her say his name. Beyond that, he loved her more than any words that he could think of.

Then the thought of carrying a child that they created from their unison struck his mind. He wasn't sure on the specifics of how it worked – it's not like you were really taught any of that stuff, but he was pretty sure that he would make a good father one day.

"Lucy?" he called, a little disheartened when she didn't reply.

Reluctantly, he got up from the bed and went to wash in Lucy's bathroom before changing back into his clothes – or was it their bathroom now? If they were getting married officially, what would they be doing until then? He would have a lot of things to ask her about later when she was back from-

"Jose!" Natsu said out loud, remembering that Lucy was going to break off her engagement with him. Horror filled his mind that she might have gone to that bastard's place by herself and Natsu dashed out of the bathroom, down the stairs and out the front door in a flash, finding the adrenaline to make his aching legs run towards the Porlas manor house.

Natsu scowled, not trusting Jose one bit to do something nasty. If he had learned anything from his year going all over the place in search of Cana, it was that the Porlas were involved in some shady dealings and they treated the workers in their mines and factories like slaves.

He turned a corner, nearly slipping in the snow as he barrelled forwards, passing couples and children who looked at him with alarm but he paid them no mind.

He crossed the crossroads into the marketplace, past a group of carollers before noticing a flash of familiar blonde hair.

He skidded to a stop to turn, his eyes wide when he saw Lucy standing with Elfman, chatting away with Mira and Lisanna as if nothing was on.

"Lucy…" Natsu whispered, relieved as he gingerly approached the group.

Lucy caught sight of him and she looked at him in disbelief. "Natsu, what are you-?"

Natsu was quick to grab her by her shoulders and pull her into a tight embrace, breathing in her calming scent and just happy to know she was alright.

"I thought Jose might do something to you," Natsu said quietly to her.

"That's why Elfman came with me," Lucy quietly replied. "I told you before I left."

"I don't remember that," Natsu said back, feeling a little daft for a change. He rarely felt embarrassment, but Lucy… she could do that.

"Although I think I'm more than capable of taking him on myself!" Lucy declared, pulling away and confidently smiling up at him. "He doesn't have any power over me any more."

"You're not engaged to him any more?" Natsu asked, just wanting to hear it confirmed.

"No. As far as I know, I'm only engaged to you now," Lucy said back, quietly although at that point, Natsu became suddenly aware of his other surroundings, finding the Strauss's watching them with cheeky smirks.

"Congratulations, Natsu, I commend you on your manliness to finally ask for her hand in marriage!" Elfman was the first to say, stepping forward and clapping him on the back.

"When is the wedding?!" Mirajane asked, clasping her hands together and looking overjoyed at the prospect.

Lucy shot them awkward smiles, "we haven't really talked about that yet."

"Well, you get to decide, Lucy," Lisanna reminded her.

"I know, but it's something I want to decide together," Lucy answered her, looking back to Natsu and smiling back up at him. He honestly didn't mind what date she wanted, but it felt nice that she wanted his input on it regardless. He stepped forwards and wrapped his arm around her back and waist, not caring what passers-by might think. They were officially engaged now anyway so what did it matter. Lucy didn't shy away either, seemingly content to have his arm around her.

"Shall we head back to get ready for Christmas?" Mirajane suggested. "Everyone will be over before long so I want to get started on preparing the food before then!"

"Once I've picked up Happy," Natsu said, missing his cat now and hoping that everyone took good care of him whilst he was gone. Happy would make their family feel more complete, he was sure of that.

* * *

Lucy quickly learned that the Strauss siblings had planned to roast a goose for their winter feast, along with honey-roasted potatoes and chestnut stuffing. As with she did the before when she worked for Levy, she happily joined them in their preparations. She had insisted that Natsu relax after his journey but to his credit, he joined them and offered to help prepare the goose – his mouth watering at the sight as he had never had a full Christmas dinner like the one that they were preparing.

Ultimately, this led to a disagreement between him and Elfman about what was a more 'manly' way to go about roasting the thing and Mira had to banish them both from the kitchen for a while.

Once the food was cooking, everyone went about relaxing in Lucy's living room where Natsu had chosen to use his banished time to get the fireplace going. Lucy found she was bombarded with more questions from the siblings about her plans for the future now, and thankfully, they weren't all about her engagement.

"I'm thinking of becoming a writer," Lucy said to them all as she relaxed on her red velvet sofa, Natsu's arm firmly around her shoulder as he slouched back beside her. "It's something I've always wanted to do ever since we were at the workhouse."

"A lady writer?" Elfman asked as if it were a foreign concept.

"No, just a writer," Lucy said. "I know it might be a difficult path to take but I want to do it, regardless."

"What about your marriage?" Lisanna asked as she sat comfortably on the carpet on the floor by the fire, her hand gently stroking Happy as he stretched himself out with a content look about him.

"What about it?" Natsu asked curiously.

"Wouldn't you be, well, raising a family?"

Lucy blushed at the thought and its ability to inadvertently remind her of night spend with Natsu, both exciting her and making her feel a little awkward about it. Her hand found Natsu's and she gripped it, he doing the same in return.

"Well, one day perhaps but for now, I just want to write," Lucy answered. She felt Natsu tense awkwardly against her for a second but she shot him a reassuring look, hoping he wasn't taking what she was saying as a rejection to do more of what they did together. She was partially keen to return to that as soon as possible, her mind quickly trying to come up with ideas of how to prevent becoming with a child so soon.

She quickly pushed that aside, wanting to focus on Christmas with her family for now.

"What about you, Natsu?" Mirajane asked.

"What about me?" Natsu asked, oblivious to what they meant. Lucy too was curious about what Natsu might want to do now with his life – she couldn't see him wanting to just sit around or playing the role of a businessman.

Mira giggled slightly at him before making herself clearer. "What are you going to do now that you're back of course?"

"… Spend Christmas with everyone?" Natsu said, as though that should have been obvious to her.

"Never change Natsu, never change," Mirajane said whilst shaking her head in amusement.

Before long, Erza and Jellal arrived with their beautiful baby daughter, sporting a small head of red hair. Erza didn't look so surprised to see Natsu, but Lucy concluded that it was probably because Jellal had told her all about last night. That was confirmed for her when Erza grinned widely at Natsu, pulling him into a bear hug and congratulating him over and over.

The Dreyars arrived a little later with Makarov nursing a hangover, leaving him a strange state of being both irritable and jolly. Laxus finally met Natsu, the man Lucy had accepted as her fiancee willingly and she was relieved when the former was friendly to him albeit with a few moments of harmless banter.

Levy was also there with Gajeel, the two nearly inseparable and his large tomcat carried by her awkwardly, her small stature making the cat look huge. Natsu had gone to the kitchen with Elfman to check on the status of the goose under the strict supervision of Mira so that left the Dreyars unaware of his presence.

"I'm getting married, Levy!" Lucy announced to her excitedly, holding up her left hand to proudly show off her silver ring.

"I know… I'm sorry, Lucy, maybe there's a chance-" Levy began to say before pausing to look at her weirdly. "Why are you happy about it? You hate Jose for what he's doing."

"Gihi. She's not marrying him, that's why," Gajeel said, sniffing the air lightly. "I can smell Salamander – that scent of ash that seems to follow him everywhere makes it real easy to know what's going down here."

Levy gasped, holding her hands to her mouth in shock. "It's true Lucy, Natsu came back for you? And you're going to marry him!?"

"Yep!" Lucy declared, and the two grasped each other in a hug.

"I'm so happy for you!" Levy said, over and over again.

Gray was the last to arrive, sporting a dishevelled appearance, as though he hadn't been home all night and had only just managed to make it there. Lucy was about to ask him what on Earthland had happened to him when Lady Lockser sauntered in behind him, looking a little nervous about being there but definitely happy.

"Hello again, Lady Heartfilia," she said shyly.

"Just call me Lucy, Lady Lockser," Lucy replied, welcoming her into her home. Lucy didn't have to ask to know what might have happened for Juvia to be at her home, despite barely knowing each other. Gray said very little until Natsu spotted him and took the opportunity to run outside briefly to make a snowball. He then threw it at Gray when he re-entered the house.

Soon everyone was passing the time in an impromptu snowball fight that Lucy insisted take place outside so her furniture wouldn't be drenched. Even Levy and Juvia, who had been raised in polite society really enjoyed themselves. Naturally, Erza tried to get her daughter to throw snowballs and Jellal had to gently remind her that she wasn't even a year old yet.

Lucy was still saddened that Cana couldn't be with them but hoped she was happy out there with her father, away from the Porla's greedy clutches.

Later, everyone settled down for dinner in Lucy's dining room to a wondrous feast. They had never sat as a group, as a family – an extended family even and eaten together like that before. Lucy loved that it wasn't nearly as stuffy as ones she had attended among the other upper-class families. No, there's was one that was filled with laughter, the spilling of wine and brandy, the occasional playfight and no over the top table manners were required.

She shared her ideas for stories she wanted to write with no one to judge her or put her down. Levy discussed politics freely, earning some debate but she was never dismissed because of her gender.

Natsu had the appetite of a wolf, ravenously helping himself to more servings of goose and stuffing with a gleam in his eyes. The sherry that was served for dessert over plum pudding, a fond but bittersweet memory for most of them as they recalled their childhood.

With the sweet wine on her lips, Lucy found she was quickly cosying herself up to her fiancee more and more, nearly jumping in her need to feel his lips upon hers again.

Their Christmas was a joyous one, their happiest one yet although Lucy drunkenly declared that it would be a tradition from now on that she and Natsu would host Christmas.

* * *

It was late into the evening when Lucy was finally alone with Natsu again, finding themselves drawn to lounging beside the roaring fireplace in her sitting room. Her tipsy state had worn off thankfully, leaving her flushed at her loud and unhindered intimacy. Happy meanwhile, happily stretched himself out by the fire, gently purring in his sleep.

"I wished upon the embers for you to come back to me," Lucy said as she watched the flickers of flames dance off the hot coals before them.

"Huh?" Natsu hummed as he sat beside her, his hand firmly wrapped around hers.

"I had to burn your letters but I always wished on them for you to come home," Lucy explained, resting her head against his shoulder, happily content in that moment.

"You didn't really think I wouldn't come back, did ya?" Natsu asked teasingly.

"Er, well, that is…" Lucy stammered, remembering the torrent of emotions she had experienced the day before.

"I was always gonna come back," Natsu continued to say. "And I proposed like I said I would… but you didn't want to wait any more when we-"

Lucy slapped a hand over his mouth, instinctively harkening back to keeping quiet about their private affairs, he mumbling the rest of his sentence into it. She quickly withdrew her hand, apologising to her fiancee, the word feeling fresh and new despite her forced engagement that had lasted almost a year.

"… So when do you wanna get married?" Natsu asked, bringing her closer to him as his eyes settled on the fire as though it had some sort of hold over him.

"Summer… July maybe," Lucy quickly answered. "And it shouldn't be anything too fancy and I want all of our family should be there."

"Alright," Natsu answered not having much to add on the subject. Lucy suspected he would begin to list what food they should have at the wedding but he seemed almost contemplative instead, as though he was debating something.

Lucy looked up at him as she felt his body tense somewhat beside her. "Natsu?"

"Do we, uh, need to _'wait'_ some more before that?" he asked quickly, almost as though he wasn't sure if he should be asking. It was odd that she ever saw him nervous or shy about anything but this was strangely endearing.

"…Do you want to?" Lucy found herself asking, unsure if perhaps he regretted his choice last night, even if she didn't. She sincerely hoped he didn't as she wasn't sure if she could last several more months without him wanting to share something wonderful like that again.

"… Nah, I wanna do that again, a lot more," Natsu answered honestly, his sudden uncharacteristic shyness replaced by a devious grin. Lucy grinned back, unable to contain the faint blush across her cheeks at his boldness in saying so before she passionately kissed him in agreement.

Both of them knew that from that moment onwards, as a family, they could weather anything together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone who decided to read this until the end! I realise that I could lengthen this by a lot with various other plot hooks, but I wanted to do a relatively short story for Christmas time.
> 
> For this story, I wanted to focus on some of the light historical elements (I really didn't have time to sit down and research a huge amount of Victorian etiquette but would if this were a longer story), practice writing romance and to also see if I could write a lemon/smut whilst avoiding it being overly raunchy.
> 
> I'm also still figuring out what makes a good ending so sorry about that – writing the final chapter was the most challenging. I have yet to gain much experience in writing an ending so this would be the first one for me.
> 
> I kinda understand that I've failed here with this short story as it didn't get much interest and I have a lot to think about going forwards when trying to write romance plots. I'm not sure how I'm going to go about tackling it in my other fic, Fairies and Dragons, as that includes a slow burn romance plot. I might consider not writing it/leaving it unresolved or rewriting some of it/changing my plans entirely.
> 
> Anyway, that's enough rambling. If you really did enjoy this story, please let me know what you think of it!
> 
> I want to give special thanks to these wonderful commenters! 
> 
> sonicaj and fawn (lucyfairyglitter) 
> 
> And er, Merry Christmas!

**Author's Note:**

> My personal challenge with this fic is to keep the chapters between 2-5k words each. The whole story won't take place in this one setting so please keep that in mind going forward! Also please let me know what you think in the comments! All commenters will be credited in the final chapter.


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